Operation Nightshade
by silentcelica
Summary: After a tragic event leaves Weiss devastated she forms a peace keeping group to keep Vale and the rest of Remnant safe. How far is she willing to go to maintain that safety, and will Blake and her group of renegades be enough to stop the Ice Queen before things get out of hand? This story takes place shortly after Volume 3. RWBY and it's characters are property of Rooster Teeth.
1. Prologue : Part 1

A gentle breeze picked up and lightly tossed Ruby's hair about as she stared into the horizon at the setting sun. The wind felt cool on her skin and reminded her of all the times Yang had taken her out in the wagon back in Patch, determined to find Raven, but Uncle Qrow usually stopped them before they reached the end of the path. She could hear the other members of her team walk past her, Nora skipping about with Ren, humming and singing as she took in the sights and sounds of the woods and its animals. Ren agreed with her on occasion but was mostly silent, as he always was. Jaune took a step past her and stopped, watching the others continue down the path. A chill ran down her spine as the words rang out in her mind.

Moments before Ozpin had defeated her, Salem laughed. She told Ruby that her team would be the true fall of Remnant. She said that the seed had been planted and it was only a matter of time before their demise would bloom. Then Ozpin managed to seal her away, back inside of the dimension from which she had came, and he died. Ruby watched on in horror as he passed away in Qrow's arms and told her that he knew she would still save them all. But was it true? Hadn't he believed the same about himself once long ago? Hadn't she believed that about her mother too?

"I always dreamed of being like my mother when I was a little girl. I felt like I would go on these amazing adventures and save the people and I'd be regarded as a hero…" Her mind drifted to her mother. She had died for the same cause so long ago. And so many others had also perished for the same goal before that. "Most of all, I just want to help people, but at what cost?" Jaune sighed, his mind also deep in thought. Tracking down Salem and Cinder was the hardest on him. It had taken him too long, but when he finally realized that he loved Pyrrha, she had died.

"We should keep moving Ruby. We still have a full day's walk ahead of us before we get back to the border of Vale," Jaune spoke softly. She could hear it in his voice and she knew that her own would reflect the same. They had been stripped of everything during that battle in a spiritual sense. He sounded tired and unsure. It was subtle and to anyone who wasn't listening for it, they probably wouldn't notice. She continued to watch the sun, and felt Jaune's hand on her shoulder. "There was nothing we could do Ruby. You can't beat yourself up over that. We did everything in our power to help Ozpin."

"I'm not." She managed as everything had swelled and caught in her chest. "But you are, aren't you?" She looked at him and she could tell that he was hurting. He looked into her eyes and tried to smile it off, but it almost made the feeling unbearable for the both of them. The tears filled his eyes, but he fought them as he released his grip and turned back to Nora and Ren who had stopped up ahead. Nora seemed to be talking with a small creature and Ren stood behind her, advising her against it.

"Ozpin always said he thought I'd do great things," Jaune choked on the words. "But I've been anything but great to this point."

"That's not true Jaune!" She told him sternly. She took a step, closing the gap and placing herself directly behind him. "You've done amazing things. You helped clean up Vale and Beacon. We cleared the Grimm out of Haven. We couldn't have done it without you Jaune." She reached out and gently touched his shoulder, and he flinched, memories of all the moments he had spent with Pyrrha flooded back to him. His body tingled in shock and pain.

"I'm sorry Ruby." He said, sounding defeated.

"It's ok Jaune." She moved around him and stood next to him watching the other two. "We can work through this together." He smirked slightly.

"It's not your eyes that would save all of us." He chuckled slightly and continued down the path with Ruby. "You have this undeniable ability of giving others hope. If nothing else, you have the ability to keep us going Ruby and sometimes that's what we need more than a silver eyed fighter that could conquer all. As long as you stay you Ruby, we can get through anything." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Thanks Jaune." She could carry on.

She always had and she always would.

* * *

"It was amazing! I've never seen anything that crazy before! Just ask anyone on Team RNJR!" exclaimed Ruby sitting at a large conference table with the remaining members of Team JNPR and Team RWBY. She sat on the edge of her seat, her arms folded in front of her and resting on the table.

"Team 'Ranger'?" asked Blake. Ruby shrugged.

"I… It's the name we came up with for Ren, Nora, Jaune and myself."

"Under the leadership of…?" Yang trailed off, unsure of who to assume as leader.

"Why of course it's our fearless leader Ja-" Nora started.

"Ruby came up with the name on her own," Jaune interrupted, "and she of course was leading our team." He looked guilty. Ruby looked at him and knew that the pain and anger he had expressed to her earlier was returning. She couldn't help feeling his pain, they had all lost something.

"But our only other option was… Junior and that just doesn't make any sense, right!?" asked Nora. Blake, Yang, and Weiss exchanged glances. Ren shrugged.

"We're just glad you guys made it back safe," Weiss said as she turned her focus to Ruby. Ruby shrank down in her chair, trying not to giggle, and blushed. Ruby and Weiss had unofficially been an item for a while now, but Ruby still acted like a schoolgirl just now getting to know her crush. Unofficial in the fact that they hadn't come out and said it, but everyone knew.

"What about Ozpin?" asked Blake. Team RNJR exchanged glances and Jaune let out a sigh. He looked down at the table, tears had gathered at the bottom of his eyes.

"We did what we could to help him, but in the end, the only way he could stop her was by sacrificing himself."

A silence fell over the table and no one said anything for a while.

Ruby had to fight back tears. Ozpin had personally admitted her into Beacon two years early, and she had made wonderful friends, friends that would last a lifetime. She never got to thank him for that. Weiss also took it particularly difficult. Ozpin didn't look at her as just another Schnee, but rather strictly took a professional approach as to the decision of her admission. Blake was angry. Ozpin didn't discriminate the Faunus, and she could genuinely say that she felt just as safe talking to him as she did the rest of her team. Yang was hurt and confused. One of the first things that Ozpin ever said to her was how much she reminded him of her mother. She took that comment to heart. It wasn't only that, but Ozpin was the only one outside of her team that believed her during the incident with Mercury at the Vytal Festival. It was because of him that she was merely disqualified from the tournament, and didn't face criminal charges.

Nora and Ren exchanged a glance. They got their acceptance letters at the same time, and Nora was thrilled to be going to the same school with Ren together. Well, not "together" together. Ren couldn't help but be grateful to Ozpin. Ren had spent the entire night before their entrance exam helping Nora study, that he actually fell asleep during the exam and didn't get to finish it. Ozpin personally allowed him to retake the test, under the condition that he always kept his grades up, and that he would always keep moving forward. Jaune though, took Ozpin's death the hardest out of anyone. Shortly after confessing to his team that he had forged his transcripts, he decided, with a strong recommendation from Pyrrha, that he also confess to Ozpin. Much to Jaune's surprise, Ozpin revealed that he knew full well that they were forged, but that he always believed in Jaune from the very beginning. He almost had to laugh. If Ozpin was right about him, why were Ozpin and Pyrrha dead, while Jaune was helpless to save either of them?

"This ends now guys," Blake stated as she stood up at the end of the table. " Yang and I have been working for the last few months that you've been gone, and we've come up with a plan for taking down Adam and the White Fang, and I understand that Qrow and Glynda have an idea on how to take down Cinder."

"Great! When do we start?" asked Ruby leaping out of her chair. She landed on the table and made a few absurd karate poses. "I'm ready to kick some White Fang butt!"

"As soon as Ironwood and Neo get back," Yang said as she stood. Ruby froze mid pose and looked over at her sister.

"Neo?! You mean the short girl with the parasol!?" Yang nodded and smiled.

"We made a mutual agreement. You could almost say that every time I scream, she comes running." Weiss face palmed and Blake shook her head. "Eh? Eh? Guys?"

"Oh I get it!" exclaimed Nora laughing. "Ice cream!" Ren shook his head also as he stood.

"I don't know if it was that funny," he offered.

"Psh come on silly! Of course it was!"

"Anyways, where is she?" asked Jaune.

"She left a few days ago to retrieve something for me," Yang said. "They should be back soon."

* * *

Mercury and Emerald exited the small house and stood on the path out in front. The same breeze that Mercury had come to known growing up there as a child blew past the two of them and he kicked at the dirt, pacing aimlessly as he tried to decide what they should do next. Cinder would be furious that they wasted their day, no doubt.

"No luck. I thought for sure that bastard would have left the Dust in the old crawl space," stated Mercury as he turned back to look at his old home. "If I never have to come back here again, it'll be too soon."

"Hey Merc, I'm gonna go use the restroom before we head back out for Beacon," Emerald said as she headed back for the house. Mercury threw his hands into the air, completely incredulous.

"We were just in there!"

"I didn't need to go a minute ago! I'll only be a moment!" Mercury shook his head as he could hear the door slam and he looked down the path.

"Women…" The word caught as he spotted someone coming towards him from the direction of the city. He squinted slightly, craning his neck to try and make them out. He gave up after a moment and slowly made his way towards them, meeting them in a clearing in the woods on the old dirt path. "Neo?! Where have you been? Emerald and I have been looking for you ever since Roman was eaten by that Grimm. We thought you might have been killed in all the confusion." She simply stood there and smiled up at him, twirling her parasol behind her. "Still not saying much huh? We're heading to a White Fang rally Friday night if you wanna join us. I don't think Cinder would mind-" Without warning her smile changed from innocent to mischievous.

As the clone before him shattered, he felt her parasol handle latch his ankle from behind and yank it out from under him, but he was able to adjust and sprung off of his hands, landing on his feet and pivoting to look at her. There was a sizeable indent where he stood and he immediately spotted what caused it.

"You've got Blondie's gauntlets, and something tells me you didn't kill her to get them. So, you're one of them now, huh? That's too bad, I always appreciated how quiet you were." He fired off three shots at her with his boots and she blocked them with her parasol, unable to see him charging at her on the other side. She closed the top and extended the blade, anticipating his rush but he kicked it out of her hands and knocked her hands down as he landed and she tried to fire at him. She failed and he kicked her, blasting her back several feet and she landed upright, snatching up her parasol and firing two shots that were deflected. She did a forward handspring using Ember Celica to launch herself up and attempt to kick Mercury in the face. Mercury batted away her foot and the clone shattered, he spun quick to find Neo's blade at his neck.

He quickly avoided three quick swipes and the two exchanged several glances with their fists. He kicked the parasol away again with a backflip and followed it with two more to put distance between them. He attempted his cyclone attack and it knocked Neo off of her feet, throwing her back. He leapt back to his feet and slowly made his way for her, chuckling lightly with amusement under his breath. He never imagined Neo would go down that easily, especially when Yang hadn't even been able to hit her.

"Any last words? Or any words at all for that matter?" He kicked her and the clone shattered and he spun around to face her. A slight nervousness set in this time as she wasn't there and he felt something grab his leg. He attempted the same tactic as last time, only to be greeted this time with the parasol's handle smashing into his face. He fell onto his side and she used the handle to drag his body to her in one swift motion. Her fist smashed into his knee and the shot thundered through the air before she quickly landed a blow with the other. The second blow broke the leg clean off and as he maneuvered his body to land a kick on her, his foot crashed through the clone, leaving him alone in the clearing.

"Dammit Emerald!" Mercury shouted as he lay there on the ground. She threw the door open and ran over to him. "What the hell took you so long?"

"What does that matter, what happened to your leg?!"

"Neo! She was using-"

"What?" Emerald held back her laughter momentarily before losing it. "Neo? She's like half your size! She can't be that good, can she? And why would she attack you?"She cackled as he sat there, watching her in frustration as she failed to pull herself together. Everytime she looked at him again brought on another bout of laughter.

"What does it matter? And would you knock it the hell off and help me up?! " Emerald helped him stand. "We're gonna have to get ahold of Cinder."

"Will you?" Came a voice from behind them. A chill ran down Mercury's spine and they both turned to see Cinder, hip cocked and unimpressed. "That was truly the most disappointing thing that I've ever seen. If it makes you feel any better Mercury, it takes a special sort of man to get his ass kicked by someone that small."

"Cinder! We just stopped by to collect some Dust that Marcus-" Emerald stammered.

"I know. I still want both of you at the White Fang gathering Friday. I know that Adam is skeptical about the proceedings as always and I won't be able to attend myself."

"Where are you gonna be?" Asked Mercury.

"I have some… Other business to attend to." Cinder lifted her hand above her head and dissolved into embers and ashes, blowing away in the wind.

* * *

"Neo! You're back! Did you get it?" asked Yang stepping out of the small huddle. Neo stopped short of the group that had met in the middle of the woods and cocked her hip, raising an eyebrow. Ironwood joined her and held the cybernetic arm in his hand and Yang smiled wildly and ran to Neo, picking her up in an embrace and swinging her around. "I knew you'd get it! Thanks Neo!" She set her back down and Neo brushed herself off and shrugged. Yang grabbed up the arm and inserted it into the mechanical socket that had been implanted a few weeks earlier.

"It might seem a little strange and all at first but that tech is state of the art. Very similar to my own. Artificial nerves. Shouldn't feel any different to use than your actual arm," explained Ironwood surveying the group. Yang moved her arm in and out, taking a few swings. "So this is it?"

"This is the best we could do," Blake said as Ironwood and Neo joined their small circle. The team was comprised of Sun, Neptune, Coco, Velvet. Neo, Ironwood, Yang, and Blake respectively.

"So what's the run down again?" asked Sun. Coco slapped Sun in the back of the head and he flinched, wrapping his hands over his head and rubbing it. "Ow!"

"Haven't you been listening? I've gone over this three times, just for the two of you," said Coco. Neptune reached up and rubbed the back of his head while stretching.

"Well you gotta tell Neo and Ironwood anyways right?" he asked and Sun nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, what Neptune said!" Sun offered in agreement. She reached up to adjust her sunglasses and Sun slid away from her, out of instinct and under the impression she meant to hit him again.

"You two are absolutely hopeless." Coco sighed as she drew up a rough map sketch, composed mostly of lines drawn in the dirt on the ground. "Once Neo returns from getting us masks from some of the stragglers, here's what's gonna happen. Velvet, myself, and the two losers are going to find out what they're up to and shut it down from the inside. Bumblebee, Ironwood, and Neo are going for a frontal assault on Adam. We'll overwhelm them. The White Fang are on their last leg. Let's pull it out from under them."

"Did you just call us Bumblebee?" asked Blake. Coco looked at her over her sunglasses.

"And?" Coco asked her. Neo chuckled inaudibly. Blake cocked her head slightly as she looked at Yang. Suddenly the tattoo Yang had gotten on her ankle made a little more sense. Yang smiled back at her.

"If anything, _we_ should be offended!" Neptune declared. He turned away with Sun, dejected, and threw his arm over him. "She called us losers."

"I think it's kinda cute!" Yang exclaimed throwing her arm around Blake. Blake smirked as she thought about it, but she shook it off, she needed to focus.

"We can discuss this later." Blake looked at Neo. "You're on." Just like that Neo was gone and the two separate teams started heading into position through the dense woods.

"Hey Blake, how does the White Fang pick the locations for these gatherings anyways?" asked Yang.

"Usually they pick locations that play to their strengths and always leave them an escape if needed. This place however…" Blake stopped and leaned against a tree, her eyes distant. Ironwood stopped and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" asked Ironwood. Blake nodded slightly.

"Yeah. You can go ahead, I need a word with Yang." Ironwood was reluctant but kept on moving.

"Blake, what is it?" asked Yang as she turned Blake to face her.

"I haven't been here since I was a little girl. Maybe I just didn't want to see it, or maybe it's because my parents tried to protect me from the truth, but this is the camp that most of us grew up in. This is where they raised us to be killers Yang. Some of us were brought here by our parents if they were already members of the Fang, and others were stripped away from their parents who had refused to join. It's just… overwhelming." Yang grabbed Blake's hands and kissed her on the cheek.

"You'll be alright Blake. You escaped this and today we'll make things right once and for all. You're the most awesome person I know." Blake looked at Yang and smiled. She thought about Yang wanting to rip her apart when she had found her again after they'd split from the attack on Beacon. Blake couldn't understand why Yang was so angry that she'd left but it was then that Yang confessed that she loved Blake, and not in a sisterly way. She had loved Blake deeply in a way that Blake had never known before. She needed that.

"You always know how to cheer me up." Yang smiled and shook Blake's shoulders.

"It's what I'm here for! C'mon. Let's go finish this." At that moment Neo appeared, handing them their masks and shaking her head. "Don't look at us like that. Ironwood's right up ahead and we were just having a chat." Neo rolled her eyes before putting on her own mask and walking towards Ironwood. "That's all it was!"

"I don't know how you understand her so well," Blake told her. Yang shrugged as they followed Neo.

"It's hard to explain. I just know somehow." They walked a short ways before they came up on a clearing and Blake shuddered slightly as she could feel the memories returning and the pain that she had suppressed. She had always told herself when she was younger that it wasn't as bad as Weiss always insisted but the deeper she had dug in the recent months, the more horrified she became. Weiss was right, but even what Weiss had known was nothing compared to how awful the Fang had actually become. She pulled on her mask.

Before them was a large settlement made of tents and small huts that were scattered about. Children chased after each other laughing, some sparred with wooden weapons against each other. On the far side, teenagers had weapons that had been crafted by one of Adam's specialists much like her own. They attacked straw and wooden dummies with the word "HUMAN" poorly and crudely painted across the chests in a flurry of slices and a barrage of gunfire. The trainer would stop them temporarily and check their accuracy, congratulating them or criticizing them. Blake was frozen. She had once been a part of this. She remembered a specific moment where she had asked Adam why all of the dummies were implied as being human and he told her "They're the problem my love."

She held back the horror, pain, and tears. Maybe she had loved him once, but no more. Now she had Yang. On the outside, to everyone else, Yang was a force to be reckoned with. To Blake, she was the one who had fixed her. Yang was the one that helped her get past the pain and helped her get her life back together. She was her best friend, and she knew they were meant to be together.

"Hurry up Blake or you're gonna miss out on all the fun!" Exclaimed Yang. They had put on their masks and earlier with the help of Coco and Neo had done their hair up so they wouldn't be immediately noticed. Ironwood had provided them with confiscated Fang uniforms to complete the look. Blake's heart violently crashed against her rib cage as she spotted Adam leaving his tent and sending out his two advisors towards the amphitheater of sorts on the far corner of the camp. The bile rose in the back of her throat and she wretched internally.

She would make him pay. Not just for all of the pain that he had caused her, but the pain that he had caused anyone and everyone he came into contact with. And for Yang's arm. Somehow, Blake found that to be the most unforgivable evil he had subjected them to. She reached for Gambol Shroud but remembered that she had to leave it with Coco to sneak in.

"I hope Coco has everything planned out as well as she claimed," Blake said as they left the woods and made their way through the camp.

"Coco is one of the best I've ever worked with, and I've worked with a lot of military strategists in my day. Don't sweat anything and this will go off without a hitch. You can do this Belladonna," Ironwood offered trying to calm her nerves. As they rounded a row of tents there was a loud grunt as Neo hit the ground. There stood Adam, arms spread, looking at her with a hint of confusion and frustration.

"Watch where you're going!" He shouted at her. Blake stepped to her left slightly so that most of her body was hidden by Ironwood's larger frame. "Who are you anyways!?" Yang stepped forward and helped Neo up, glancing at her new arm to make sure the tape was still wrapped securely around it. She brushed Neo off quickly before falling back to attention.

"She's fairly new, you'll have to forgive her sir." Yang told him. Adam looked them over and shook his head. He pointed to Neo and Yang and pointed down one of the rows of huts.

"You two. Go wake up Joseph. Tell him it's time." He then directed Ironwood and Blake towards the amphitheater. "And you two hurry to the meeting. We're about to begin and you don't wanna miss what we're about to do next." Adam left them and they stood confused for a moment.

"What do we do?" Asked Blake. Adam's smile burned in the back of her mind and stirred doubt in her mind once again.

"Just do what he instructed for now. We can't afford to blow our cover. After the speech begins we'll have to go retrieve our weapons. Velvet's contact is working the registration tent and has them with him." Ironwood instructed. Neo gently pulled on Yang's arm. Blake appeared upset as Yang walked away.

"You can do this! Meet back up with you shortly!" Yang reassured her as she left with Neo, jogging with the small girl towards the huts which were typically reserved for higher ranking White Fang members. They wandered slowly through the huts and Yang glanced back where Blake had been but she was gone. Yang couldn't know how Blake felt, but she knew that Blake had the power to make it right.

Neo peeked around Yang and looked up at her.

"I know she'll be fine. She'll find the strength to beat him." Yang smiled and followed Neo through the huts. "Joseph? Excuse me, is there a Joseph here?!"

A large built man, who stood about 6 foot tall and wore a Grimm mask similar to Adam's slowly exited a hut several feet away. He adjusted the Atlesian armor he wore and looked at them. He had ram's horns that protruded from the top of his head and curled on each side, and he reached back into his hut. He grinned unnervingly as he pulled on a black shawl that covered his entire torso. It lit up, revealing stripes of every color of Dust, running vertically around the garment before fading back to black.

"I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting either of you, but I do know one thing." He sniffed the air for a moment before chuckling. "Neither of you are Faunus." Before either of them could react he was charging at them with blinding speed and they shattered as he slammed into them. "Fun trick, but you can't hide for long."

"What just happened?" Whispered Yang as she and Neo hid for a moment in one of the huts. Neo shrugged and glanced around the room. "We have to get to our weapons." Neo grabbed a knife off of the table and pointed towards the gathering area. "You can hold him off?" Neo nodded furiously and pointed again.

"I hear you," came his voice from outside of the shanty. Neo grabbed Yang and teleported as Joseph smashed into the hut, tearing the entire thing down. Yang ran for the meetup location as Neo hid again. Joseph swept the area slowly. "Come on girls, I just wanna introduce myself!" Neo sprinted out from the trees and leapt into the air, planting a kick on Joseph's left shoulder blade. She glanced off and landed on her feet behind him, her attack hadn't even caused him to sway. He turned towards her and chuckled. "That the best you got? And where did the blonde go?"


	2. Prologue : Part 2

Hey, Silent Celica here, and I'd like to thank you all for reading Chapter 1! Fun fact about the prologue is that it was several ideas that I had for a separate fan fiction that I put together to compliment the idea that my writing partner came up with. (Credit to OrganoidZero who came up with the idea for this story!) Any questions or criticism is welcome, you can shoot me a message or leave a review below.

Also if you get a moment we had an artist over at Deviant Art do our characters for this story! Special thanks to Zephyros-Phoenix and the link to Joseph's art is here: zephyros-phoenixdeviantartcom/art/Commission-Joseph-Arc-648202029 (You'll have to insert periods in the address before deviantart and com, apparently they don't like people posting links)

* * *

Blake and Ironwood rounded the tree line back towards where Adam had directed them, and found that the area was slowly filling in with more Faunus than they could have anticipated. They filed in with the crowd as they gathered in towards the stage that had been set up, and tried to stay towards the back but were being nudged by the crowd to move closer. Blake was shocked at the size of the rally considering that she and Yang had dedicated the last few months to eradicating the Fang. It almost seemed off.

"We need to be able to get out to the registration tent." Blake reminded him.

"Don't worry. Once the crowd is too absorbed in Adam's message, we'll make our move." After a few moments things settled down and Adam took the stage. Blake immediately noted his defensive demeanor and Wilt and Blush, his sword and gun-sheath respectively, on his hip.

"Brother and Sisters! Thank you for gathering here tonight on such short notice, but our numbers are the smallest they've been since we became radical and time is of the essence. Tonight, as we leave this rally, we will begin Operation Purity and we will leave all of humanity in the ruins. I know you're all wondering how we're planning on doing so…" Ironwood nudged Blake.

"Quick! To the tent!" They made their way through the mass that was still growing and arrived at the stand a moment later. A man with antlers stood at the table in the canvas' opening and spread the propaganda pamphlets out across the table.

"The two of you interested in joining the Fang? I'll warn you, the insurance isn't that great and the health benefits suck." Blake leaned in over the table so that only the worker could hear her.

"Operation Nightshade." The Faunus gave a slight simper as he nodded. "Belladonna." He moved quickly to the back and returned Blake's weapon to her. "Oh, and Ironwood too." He handed over the revolver and they thanked him, turning back around to face the crowd. Blake froze for a moment as she stood staring at the theater. All of the Faunus were gone.

"Blake, what happened?" asked Ironwood. "We were surrounded by Faunus…" Blake knew before that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Were you?" came a voice from behind them. Blake and Ironwood turned around to see Emerald and Adam and Blake's breath caught for a brief moment. "I noticed you both back at the tents and had Emerald show you everyone gathering here. By the time I kill you, they'll all be long gone." He turned to Emerald. "Great work. Rejoin Junior. I'll be done here soon." Emerald took off into the woods.

"Adam, what's the meaning of all of this?" She slowly unsheathed her blade and Adam smirked.

"The same as it's always been, my love. The humans have kept us down for far too long and it's time we made them pay."

"They aren't all like that Adam! The White Fang are the reason that the humans are still so afraid of us. Ironwood, Coco, Yang, Ruby, they're all great people!" Adam glowered.

"The blonde lived huh?" Adam's hand moved to Wilt. "This time I'm gonna make sure you can't interfere ever again." The smile returned to his face. "And then I'll kill your love."

Blake prepared for his swift attack and leapt back, leaving behind a decoy and making a wide arc to the right. Ironwood had stepped in front of her decoy and blocked 5 quick swipes with his gun. He switched which hand his gun was in quickly and knocked down Blush from shooting Blake with his mechanical arm. Blake's pistol screamed through the gap between them and she fired a shot, sending the gun back towards her and wrapping the ribbon around Wilt. She pulled Adam away from Ironwood. Adam grabbed her gun and unwound it in one fluid motion, sheathing Wilt. Blake was now moving towards him and he ejected his blade into the air, grabbing it and swinging it down at her. The sword planted in her ice decoy and he blasted it away with Blush, but not before Blake landed a clean hit with her katana and batted him towards Ironwood.

Two shots hit a disoriented Adam, before he sliced through the next few. He sheathed his weapon again.

"You're testing my patience darling." He told her with a glower tugging at his lips.

"We don't have to do this Taurus. If you come with us we'll make sure you get a fair trial." Adam chuckled, gripping his blade tighter.

"You think I'm worried about that? A fair trial by humans!? What a joke, I'd sooner die!" Blake had reached him again and dual wielded her blades. Adam blocked her barrage and slid back as her fire decoy exploded. Adam reached Ironwood with blazing speed and attempted the same attack, knowing his opponents pattern. He stopped his attack short this time and blasted Ironwood's gun out of his hand with Blush.

* * *

Another decoy shattered and Joseph let out a groan. His patience was beginning to run thin as Neo continued to lead him on a fruitless chase.

"Little girl, how long do you plan on keeping this up for? I've got other things that I need to get done before the night's over." Neo leapt onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reached back but had difficulty grabbing her as she clung tightly to him. "That's fine then, have it your way." He barreled for the tree line and quickly spun his body around, slamming into a larger tree and knocking it over. Neo stood in front of him, staring him down. "You're quick, but I don't think that it'll be enough."

At that moment he was knocked off of his feet as Yang connected with his jaw. She tossed Neo's umbrella to cracked the knuckles on her left hand.

"Are you okay?" She asked Neo. Neo nodded and stepped up so that she was beside her. "Don't touch Neo!" Joseph smiled as he stood back up, rubbing his jaw. He shrugged his shoulders, rotating them in large circles to stretch them.

"Now… It gets interesting." Joseph planted his feet and sprinted for Yang. Yang fired several shots that glanced off without affecting him. Joseph plowed into Yang and dragged her several yards before Neo caught up via teleportation and hooked Yang with the umbrella, pulling her out of the way. Yang took a moment to catch her breath, looking the man over.

"We gotta keep him from building up speed," exclaimed Yang half gasping for air. Neo nodded. She leapt in front of Yang and opened the parasol behind her, twirling it. "You want to try our combo attack?" Yang grinned and planted herself.

Neo leapt into a ball and Yang fired both gauntlets at the parasol as Neo closed it, launching her towards Joseph. Yang ran towards them as Neo reached him and planted her feet into his chest, sending him stumbling back a step or two. She backflipped off towards Yang and landed on Yang's hands who shot her into the air. Yang connected twice on Joseph before Neo came back down, blade extended.

Joseph reached up and grabbed the umbrella, dodging the blade and batting Yang away with Neo. They both rolled away and Yang was first to her feet, firing behind her and using the recoil to reach Joseph faster. The two exchanged glancing blows off of each other, Joseph kept batting her shots away, causing her to fire past him. She connected once with the umbrella still in his hand, knocking it away and causing him to turn and reach up, grabbing a fist full of hair, and throwing her onto the ground.

Neo teleported and caught her weapon in a full on sprint, hooking one of Joseph's horns and trying to pull him off of Yang. He didn't budge and he threw his head back the other way, halting her momentum and tossing her back into a tree. Yang slowly stood up.

"Are you two done playing around?" He asked. She looked up at him, her hair appeared fiery and her eyes red.

"Rah!" Yang shouted as she laid into Joseph. He took three clean hits to the chest before she blasted him back, and he crashed through several trees. "Neo!" Neo quivered slightly as she stood but gave Yang a thumbs up. Yang turned back in time to see Joseph barreling for her. She cocked her fist and fired, meeting his fist. A shockwave blasted everything back around them and Joseph was halted this time. She swung with her free fist and cracked his horn.

"That… Was a mistake." He told her quietly, remaining motionless for a moment. He grabbed both of her gauntlets and kicked her in the chest, pulling them off and sending her through the air. His cloak glowed with purple stripes and he took off faster than ever and slammed into Yang, sending her deep into the woods. Neo teleported but only made it halfway to Yang. She could feel that her aura was running low, she wasn't used to taking this many hits.

"Neo," groaned Yang. Neo ran for her but failed to reach her as Joseph crashed into her and an explosion flung her past Yang. As the red Dust faded into black, Joseph's shawl lit up light blue and he clotheslined Yang as she stood back up, freezing her in mid air.

"Now, I end this!" Finally the cloak lit up brown and covered both of his arms in rock gauntlets. He raised his arm but before he could slam it down into Yang he was knocked back by several shots from the Ember Celica. He turned to find Neo, chest heaving, wearing Yang's weapon. "Listen here little girl… Give up and I won't hurt you! Seems like a fair trade. I know at one point you worked with Roman, and he worked with the Fang. Is this what he would want?

You can't stop us anyways, not completely. As we speak Adam is fighting Tinman and Catgirl and the remaining Fang are escaping through tunnels under this campsite. So stand back." Neo's mind clicked to Yang wrapping an arm around her as she sobbed. She had been abandoned as a child and the Grimm took Roman from her, the only person who ever seemed to care. Yang's mother had left her and when all she had was fighting, Adam had taken her arm. Yang was hot headed, but she leveled with Neo and understood her.

Neo had mustered up some strength but she wouldn't reach him in time running. She planted her feet.

"You're too late anyways _._ " Neo fired towards Joseph and leapt, teleporting in front of her own blast and using the parasol to launch towards Joseph. She kicked his fist away as it came down and did a single backflip, landing on her feet. She fired off several shots at him, keeping him off balance. The ice wore off and Yang fell to the ground. Joseph let out an annoyed groan and batted Yang away, she tumbled into the clearing. "I'm impressed really. So much potential." His tone changed. "All gone to waste."

She used the recoil of the next shot to land a kick on his chest again but he caught her foot and tried to throw her. She was still compact enough from hitting his chest to hook her umbrella on his arm and she teleported them both as far as possible. She bounced away as they appeared in the cave full of running Faunus.

"No!" He yelled as he shoved through them. "Move! Get out of the way!"

"We need to hurry Joseph! Stick to the plan!" One of the Faunus told him. Neo crawled off to the side and hoped to blend in, laying with her back to him and the umbrella wrapped in her arms in front of her. She just needed enough energy to teleport again.

"I said get out of the way!" He batted away several Faunus that cried out in pain and fear.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Asked the one that had confronted him.

"There is a human here, and her friend took something of mine!" He reached up and broke the horn off the rest of the way. He tossed it aside and it landed next to Neo's head. She wanted it, but she didn't dare move.

"Joseph please. We need you. Without Adam we're all scared and not sure what to do." He swept the area again and sighed, nodding and taking off down the cave with the rest of them. Neo grabbed the horn and teleported back to Yang. Neo fell onto her face as she came out on the other side of her teleportation and landed next to Yang.

"Neo, are you okay?" Neo nodded and held the horn out to her, but Yang set it on the ground next to her for a moment. She tore the bottom of Neo's cloak and held it to her nose. "Your nose is bleeding. You shouldn't push yourself so hard." Neo's look was exhausting with a pleading hidden beneath. "Not even for me Neo."

Neo sat up, holding her side and quickly turned to look the direction where a loud rumbling had begun.

* * *

Coco opened the crate that had been buried just a few hours before hand and removed the weapons, delivering them to their respective owners. It hadn't been hidden all that well and could have been discovered easily, but in all of the chaos and being far enough off of the main path, it did the trick.

"That buddy of yours really hooked us up Velvet." Velvet smiled with delight as she threw her camera strap over her shoulder and snapped a few quick photos of each of their weapons. "Dare I say it, but it'd be to our advantage if we split up."

"You can think that," said Sun nervously.

"Or we can all stay together and ambush the hell out of those guys," Neptune added. Coco cocked her hip and peered at them over her sunglasses.

"Really?" she asked. "All I see are a couple of chickens."

"Hey! I'm part monkey, not chicken!" Sun exclaimed resentfully. Velvet giggled.

"That's not what I meant. Alright, come with us then you big wusses." The women led the group towards their destination, Velvet right beside Coco. The guys made small talk in the back.

"Do you really think this will be it Coco? The end of the White Fang? I was never one of them but they've been doing nothing but hurt the Faunus image for years now. After Beacon fell people were terrified of me, just because of my ears. I wasn't a killer like them." Coco threw her arm around Velvet and kissed her on the top of the head. Velvet blushed. She always loved it when she did that.

"I know Honeybun. That's why I'm here. I want you, and Blake, to have normal lives with the people you love, whether those people be part animal or not." Coco's concentration broke when she noticed Sun directly next to her on her right.

"Hey, I hate to ruin a moment, but Neptune was saying that Yang's new arm is Mercury's leg. Is that true?"

"Why would I make that up?" asked Neptune.

"No, I don't think you made it up. I think maybe you just misheard something."

"It's true," Coco replied. Sun stopped in his tracks as Neptune walked past chuckling.

"For real though?!" Sun shouted in disbelief. Coco stopped for a moment and crouched, shushing Sun with a finger to her lips.

"Velv. You hear that?" All of them listened closely for a long moment.

"Mmhmm." Velvet replied to Coco nodding.

"There's no way your hearing…" started Sun.

"Shhh!" Coco held a hand up indicating they stop. "You're right, my hearing isn't that good. My sunglasses have different digital filters installed in them."

"I knew they weren't just for show." Neptune mumbled under his breath. Coco turned to Velvet.

"Do you have Ember Celica loaded up?" she asked. Velvet nodded.

"I took it hours ago, before we started our mission. It should be good for a few good shots."

"One's all we need."

"Guys, I don't see anything," Sun said spinning slowly and squinting, trying to pick up on anything that might look suspicious.

"Just use Via Sun to throw Velvet into the air. Right there." She removed a flashlight from her pocket and shone it on the ground a few feet away.

"You got it Coco." Sun formed his clones and launched Velvet into the air. As she came down, she blasted the ground beneath her on impact and it crumbled away, opening into a cavern. Coco caught Velvet by the hand before she could fall in.

"Got you!"

"Thanks Coco." Velvet climbed back up with Coco's help and they peered inside. It was a large, poorly lit, underground storeroom of sorts, with a Nevermore chained to the walls, barely breathing. "What did they do to it?" They leapt down into the hole and peered around.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Neptune. The Grimm had tubes that ran from various points on its body to vials in a large sorting system. Sun joined Neptune, following the bloodstream while Coco and Velvet walked to the far side of the room. Coco looked through the files and papers that were scattered about on the work table. Velvet helped sift and flinched as she read one in a classified file, dropping its contents everywhere.

"Are you okay Velv?" Coco asked. Velvet nodded and gathered the papers up, handing them to Coco. Coco reviewed them. "The Fang are trying to alter Grimm blood into some sort of performance enhancer. Human trials have all ended in death, but more than seventy percent of Faunus trials were 'successful'. Adam has approved the 'drug' for distribution at the next Fang rally…" Coco's voice tapered off as she realized that the date listed indicated the rally they were at now. "Sun, call Blake and Yang! Tell them that no one can leave that rally!"

"What do we have here Miltia?" asked Melanie as she and her sister entered the room from a door beside the desk.

"It looks like a hipster and her pet bunny Melanie," Miltia replied.

"They weren't invited."

"What do we do with them then?"

"I think we teach them a lesson." Velvet stepped in front of Coco. Coco was shocked for a fleeting moment. Normally Velvet was reserved and calculated her attacks, but ever since they had been placed on Team CFVY, they were always protective of each other.

"I'd like to see you try." Velvet exclaimed. Sun and Neptune came running from the other end of the room, just to be batted in the face with Junior's rocket launcher as he and Emerald entered the room from a side passage.

"Step aside bunny," demanded Miltia.

"We wouldn't want you getting hurt," explained Melanie.

"I'll take you both out!" Velvet yelled at them. They giggled.

"Who does she think she is Miltia? Yang?"

"You've got no weapon bunny. You're screwed." At that moment Neptune swept Junior's feet out from under him with his trident and Sun did likewise with Emerald and his staff. She disappeared and reappeared behind him, running for him. They exchanged a few quick glances as he fired at her with his gun chucks and she directed them next to her. Junior disappeared also and Neptune transformed his trident back into a gun, standing behind Sun. Sun activated his semblance and both of his clones took off towards the new Emerald and Junior.

Meanwhile, Miltia ran for Velvet with her claws extended and Velvet cracked a grin. Moments before she reached her target, the Ember Celica formed on Velvet's arms and she deflected both blows. She took a gut shot and was thrown back to reveal Melanie mid front flip, heel blades at head level. Velvet shot Melanie twice, sending her bounding across the floor and landing at her sister's feet.

"Well?" asked Velvet. "How about it?"

Sun's clones simultaneously slammed into Emerald's new decoys giving Neptune enough time to catch a glimpse of Emerald and blast her into the wall with his gun. She hit the ground hard, revealing Junior. Sun spun his staff over his head before posing and taking off down the hall after a running Junior.

"Miltia, do you still have that gravity Dust Junior gave us?" asked Melanie.

"Of course I do." Miltia replied. The two girls ran in a circle around Velvet and Coco with blinding speed, causing a vortex of sorts. Coco and Velvet's hair whipped around.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?!" shouted Coco over the howling winds.

"CrossHares?" Velvet yelled back with an excitement in her voice.

"Exactly." Coco turned so that both she and Velvet were back to back and Velvet's weapon transformed into Coco's minigun. Coco transformed her purse as well and the two fired as they slowly turned clockwise. "Hell yeah!" The twins tumbled in separate directions and laid motionless on the floor, out of aura. "Neptune! Go get Sun! We gotta blow this joint and help the others stop the Fang!"

"Yes ma'am!" Neptune took off down the hall and Emerald slowly stood, stumbling and firing her guns, but missing horribly.

"You… You won't win." Coco transformed her gun back into a purse a slowly sauntered over to Emerald with Velvet behind her.

"It seems this battle was too much for you." Coco slammed her purse against Emerald's chin, sending her to the floor. Neptune and Sun came back into the room breathless.

"Junior got away!" Sun managed through gasps.

"That's fine…"

"It's not fine! He escaped into a tunnel system full of Faunus running from the area! They knew we were coming this whole time!" Neptune exclaimed as he propped himself against the wall. Velvet's ears flopped and she walked away from Coco.

"Velv?"

"It's probably my fault they knew we were coming. I thought we could trust him…"

"Velvet, you couldn't have known that he was going to double cross us. Now, pick yourself up by your bunny ears and show me what you can do." Velvet looked back at Coco who was smirking and nodded.

"Okay." Coco reached into her jacket and tossed a small disc at each corner of the room.

"Once we get in this passage way, don't stop running. This place is going to go up in flames. Use non-lethal force on these Faunus, some of them just don't know what they've gotten themselves into and if we can, seal off the exit. We need to end this thing tonight!"

* * *

"You see love, the difference between you and I, is that I will always be one step ahead. At least far ahead enough to not let anyone betray me. Eventually they will. Maybe it won't be Yang. But one of them will, and when they do… You'll regret that you didn't heed my warnings." The Faunus that helped them sneak in their weapons fired a laser at Adam who removed his sword and absorbed the energy. A gut wrenching, twisted grin crept onto Adam's face. "Now he dies." Blake threw her gun to Ironwood and he caught it, pulling her towards him in an effort to deflect Moonslice. Adam blasted her back with Blush and removed his blade, taking one swift sweep through Ironwood and bisecting him.

"Ironwood!" yelled Blake. She dropped to her knees. It was happening all over again and somehow she didn't have the power to stop it. The tears began to fill her eyes. Her mind tried to block it all out and she could see Yang standing before her.

 _Why did you leave Blake? I needed you! I know you're scared and I know it's not easy, but I was scared too! We need to help each other!_

Yang…

 _I don't want your excuses! You know why it pissed me off so much?! Do you know why I'm so angry Blake?! Because everyone that I love leaves!_

Love?

 _I love you Blake… We can do this together. Neither of us needs to be alone anymore. I… I love you._

I love you too Yang. And I'm done running.

"You can stop him Blake," Ironwood called to her as he lay on the ground gasping for air. "You're not the same. You have hope and you have love and that's more than Adam ever had and it scares him. He knows he lost you and he knows he can't fix that failure. You can do…" He was stopped short as Adam ran Wilt through his chest.

"Who you going to believe my love? The General, who wanted to use you and your friends as weapons, or me. I see you for who you really are." Blake slowly stood and silently looked at the ground. "Which one will you choose?" A loud thundering came from nearby and Adam stumbled slightly. He could see the smoke and when he looked back up for Blake she was gone. "Typical."

"I'm done running away." She whispered in his ear. He swung around and sliced into her, his blade planting into her rock clone.

"You'll never be done running Blake. It's who you are. It's even your semblance." She wrapped Gambol Shroud around him and pulled him away from Wilt. As he unraveled he was face to face with her.

"That's where you're wrong." In the blink of an eye Blake created four gravity clones, shadowy looking replicas, and they batted Adam from one clone to the next, ending with the real Blake who knocked him to the ground. "Time to die Adam." She swung her blade down at him as it transformed back but he knocked it to the side, planting it in the ground. He rolled out and ran for Wilt, using three shots from Blush to free his sword.

"I'm impressed but if you don't mind, I have a revolution to lead." Blake transformed her weapon back into a gun and swung it wide in hopes of slicing down a tree along the edge of the woods. Before the gun reached halfway, Neo grabbed on and let the gun carry her. She let go and launched into the woods, only to be launched back out by Yang who caught the gun.

"Hey babe!" Yang called out to Blake. Neo flew through the air towards Adam who sliced at her and shattered her decoy. Her parasol latched Blush and she yanked it away as he spun around. She fired at him with it several times and he sliced through the bullets before reaching her. She blocked several slices with his gun before tossing it aside and teleporting. "You sure you're up for this Neo?" Neo's chest heaved slightly, but she nodded. Yang planted the gun in a tree trunk and nodded at Blake who held the other side. Yang planted her feet on the ribbon being held back by Neo's parasol hook. Neo released as Yang fired behind herself and grabbed the umbrella as she rocketed towards Adam. Blake and Neo rushed in to overwhelm him. Yang arrived and batted his sword to one side with the parasol, and landed two shots in his chest, sending him reeling back. Blake ran past him and used two gravity clones to send him back towards Yang.

He regained his footing and dodged her attack just to be kicked in the face by Neo. He lifted his sword and absorbed several shots from Yang, charging Moonslice quickly without Blush. He brought the sword down, preparing to slice through Yang, when his sword was greeted by Gambol Shroud and Blake's hand. His Moonslice attack had used all of its energy slicing through her blade and she caught the end of Wilt with her bare hand. Blood seeped out and dripped off of her hand and Adam looked back and forth between her and Wilt, slightly shocked and confused. Before he could plan another attack, Yang's fist split the gap between them and broke Wilt in half as Blake let go of the blade. Adam stood stunned.

"I underestimated you." Adam stated in shock. Blake held her sheath blade to his neck.

"Blake…" started Yang. Yang could see all of the aggression and pain that he was the cause of reach a peak in Blake and it only wanted to find freedom from its prison. Right now that freedom looked like killing Adam. "We need to take him into custody."

"Why did you do it?" Blake held back tears.

"My father taught me, that everyone will eventually turn on you. It doesn't matter if it's humans against humans, Faunus against Faunus, the former against the latter… Everyone will betray you at some point and all you can do is strive for the best scenario that will cause you the least pain. I had it. A foolproof plan that could have seen us happy together." He looked past her towards the woods. "And instead I drove you away. I betrayed you. Just like father did to mother and betrayed me." Adam slouched back. "I'm no better than my father."

Neo's scroll started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, eyebrow raised and answered.

"Is everyone else there?" Asked Coco.

"Where's Ironwood?" asked Yang. Blake's eyes grew wide and she stepped to the side, allowing Yang to see Ironwood's torso. "Oh my-"

"Yang?"

"Coco. Ironwood-" Yang stumbled away from the scroll and fell onto Ironwood's chest. Blake slowly took the scroll from Neo, who walked over to join Yang.

"What is it Coco?" asked Blake.

"The Fang are escaping." Blake sighed. Adam sat there beside her, he seemed dazed.

"We'll have to clean them up later. Do what you can tonight. We have Adam, that should be enough to slow them if not bring them to a complete stop." Blake hung up and walked away from Adam for a moment to join Yang.

"Is this what we're destined for Blake? This isn't how anyone should have to die." Yang looked at Blake, she'd clearly been crying. Blake wrapped her arms around Yang and pulled her in.

"After Ruby and the others finish off Cinder, we won't have to worry about anything like this ever again. We can go back to Beacon and teach like you wanted." Yang chuckled and pushed Blake off of her.

"That was your idea," Yang exclaimed. Blake laughed.

"You liked it though." Yang shrugged and nodded. They both looked at Ironwood and a silence fell over them again. "Once Coco gets back we can figure all this out." Yang nodded and they returned to Adam to keep an eye on him.


	3. Prologue : Part 3

"Are you absolutely sure that this is the place your uncle said that we were supposed to meet him?" asked Weiss as she slowly turned, gripping her sword, Myrtenaster, in her left hand. "This place still kind of gives me the creeps after all this time." Ruby shrugged. They stood in a large round room, the one in which Cinder and Pyrrha's battle had taken place. Letters, Candles, and other mementos filled the middle of the room. Once the Grimm had been cleared out of the city, people wished to acknowledge Pyrrha and all that she did to try and stop Cinder. It was a somber monument to a great warrior that had died for too soon.

"I'm telling you, Uncle Qrow said 'Meet me at Beacon Tower. Where Ozpin's old office was.'" Ruby tried to mimic Qrow's voice, but didn't even come close and Weiss chuckled. Yes, as much as Weiss hated to admit it to anyone, sometimes herself, she had become more tolerant, if not appreciative, of Ruby's quirks. To say that she had a slight infatuation with Ruby was far too immense of an understatement and she wasn't sure what she'd do if she ever lost her. Ruby helped her find herself again after her father had forced her to return to Atlas to train instead of allowing her to help Ruby after the fall of Beacon, and comforted her when her father disowned her after she renounced Schnee Dust Company and rejoined RWBY to assist in taking down Cinder and Salem. At first, Weiss was subtle in her advances, but it didn't take long for Ruby to become aware of her feelings. And to Weiss's surprise Ruby felt the same. Ruby had actually felt like she was in love with Weiss for quite some time before Weiss was aware of her own feelings. The rest was history. Weiss sighed and smiled inside.

Ruby jumped slightly as her scroll rang and grabbed her scythe, fully extending it.

"Calm down. It's just your scroll." Weiss reassured her, despite feeling just as nervous. She knew that the feeling would fade once the battle began. It always did.

"Right." Ruby chuckled nervously and answered. "Uncle Qrow?"

"Are the others there yet?" he asked.

"They should be here any minute," replied Weiss.

"Cinder's waiting for us in the vault. I don't know how she knew we were coming, but she's ready. I'm running a touch behind, but none of you are to make a move until Glynda and I arrive. Got it?"

"Yes sir." Weiss answered for both of them. The call ended and as Ruby put the scroll back in her pocket, Weiss grabbed her hand. Ruby looked at their hands and then up at Weiss. She blushed.

"Weiss…" Weiss looked up at Ruby, trying to keep back tears. "Weiss, are you okay?"

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Ruby nodded slowly and Weiss was overcome by the moment. "I mean it Ruby. I need you." She moved in for a kiss but was stopped short as the elevator opened and Jaune, Nora, and Ren spilled out. Ruby snapped out of it and ran to them, leaving Weiss to stand there a moment, unsure of what to do. She shrugged it off inside and smiled softly as she joined Ruby. Ruby was just so bubbly and open all the time and Weiss wished she was less cold and closed off. But she watched Ruby, and smiled. Ruby could make her a better person. Ruby **had** made her a better person.

"Guys!" exclaimed Ruby. "Is anyone else coming?"

"Reese, Yatsuhashi, and Flynt are riding the other elevator up as we speak," Jaune told her.

"Great! Cinder is going down tonight!" Ruby squealed gleefully. She stopped her celebrating short as she looked at Jaune and everyone else followed suit until they all stared at him.

"She took Pyrrha from me. If it means dying, I'll fight until there's nothing left of me. I should have been there to help her."

"Jaune… There's nothing…" Weiss grabbed Ruby's arm and Ruby turned back towards her.

"Let him process it on his own," Weiss advised. Ruby nodded and leapt up and down as the other door opened. Jaune walked to the memorial and lifted one of the flowers, staring at its petals.

"Jaune?" Ren began. Jaune looked at Nora and Ren.

"Thanks for being here for me." He told the two of them. Nora smiled.

"No one here is going to give up until Cinder falls!" Nora shouted out, pumping her fist above her head.

"Hey!" yelled Weiss from across the room. "Leave the puns to Yang, alright?" Nora laughed.

"Sorry!" Nora called back.

"Thanks for showing up to help you guys!" exclaimed Ruby.

"After all you've done for me, it's the least I can do Ruby!" Reese offered smiling and the two girls exchanged hugs. There it was again, thought Weiss. After Reese lost her sister Lilly to the Grimm invasion, Ruby did absolutely everything in her power to help Reese move on, despite the fact that Ruby was tracking down Salem! Weiss hoped that someday people would look at her that way. The same way Reese was looking at Ruby now.

"Anything I can do to help end a threat to Remnant," Yatsuhashi replied. "Fox sends his regards. He went after a White Fang lead that he received from Coco and Velvet."

"Giving up the company must have took some real guts. I like you more all the time Schnee." Chuckled Flynt as he tipped his hat.

Without warning both elevators crashed towards the bottom of the shaft with blazing speed and a warm gust of wind blasted into the room, throwing all of their clothes and hair about. A few of them felt an immediate nervousness but it disappeared as they watched Ruby stand before them, unmoved.

"What's happening?!" yelled Weiss.

"I think she's coming!" yelled Jaune. Ruby stood at the front, their first line of defense and attack.

"Glynda and Uncle Qrow aren't here yet though!" Ruby yelled.

"It doesn't look like we have the luxury of waiting!" Ren shouted. The wind ceased abruptly.

"Look at all of you." Cinder's voice was all around them. Some of them peered around the room, waiting for her to appear before them. "Have you learned nothing in this last year? All of you are stronger and smarter and yet, none of you see the bigger picture that all along Ozpin was using you as weapons. His intent was to point you at the enemy and claim the victories, but he knew how it all would end. That's why he stayed here in his tower. He knew that none of you would ever be a match for the true power that lay in wake. Salem. The Maidens. All of that, just the tip of the iceberg.

Even my power, paired with that of the fall maiden, is nothing compared to Salem's. I know what you're thinking. Didn't our beloved Ozpin die to stop Salem? Yes, he did, but only for a moment. Someday Salem will reappear and the cycle will start all over. Isn't that a horrifying thought? So I have an offer for all of you, an ultimatum, if you will. If you leave me here, I will leave you all to live long and happy lives, and you'll never hear from me again. Or you can waste your 'power' and never stand a chance of taking down Salem when she returns." Ruby shot Weiss a concerned look. How did Cinder know their plan?

"This power was more than anyone thought it was, or could have known. I've achieved a state of… transcendence you might say. I know that you've reacquired the power of the other Maidens, they willingly gave it to your leader, and if you use it against me, you cannot defeat Salem. Not by natural means. And I know just by being in the room with you that none of you would be willing to do what it takes to achieve that sort of power. So, what do you say to that Ruby Rose? Are you going to be the hero and save the day, or will you end up like Ms. Nikos and die a horrible and appropriately tragic death?" Ruby looked back at everyone. They gripped their weapons and smiled at Ruby, nodding. Her eyes caught Jaune's, he gritted his teeth. At the very least, she would try for his sake.

"We say bring it on!" Ruby answered for the entire team. The group cheered and was quickly silenced by a collective roar from the outside of the building. There was a loud rumbling from below and Weiss ran to the ledge to peer down.

"Grimm!" She yelled. Beowolves climbed quickly up the tower with Ursai slowly bumbling up as well.

"But we flushed them all out!" Reese exclaimed as she and Flynt stood next to Weiss.

"She's making more," Weiss whispered to herself.

"Nora!" Ruby shouted. "Ride down the side of the building with Reese and take out the Grimm!" Ruby looked at Reese. "You can do that, right?"

"Ruby. Please." Reese slapped her board under her and eased up to the edge as Nora leapt on. "You ready?"

"I was born ready!" Nora sang, a fire in her eyes. Reese took off down the side and Nora slammed the Grimm off as they rode down.

"Flynt!" Ruby exclaimed. "Suppressive… Trumpeting?"

"You got it Rose!" He blasted away any Grimm that got too close to Reese and Nora.

"That all you got Cinder?" Jaune demanded. "Huh?!" Their initial success had him fired up and had given his spirit a slight renewal.

"Far from it," replied Cinder. Her embers and ashes danced up the elevator shaft and into the room, swirling around in the middle, near Pyrrha's memorial. They took the form of a distorted human before finally solidifying to the horror of everyone in the room.

"It can't be!" yelled Ruby. The man cracked his neck to both sides and lifted his cane, the Melodic Cudgel, nodding slightly.

"Little Red! Long time no see. How's Neo? Has she kicked all of your asses yet?" Roman Torchwick had been eaten during the invasion by a Griffon, yet here he stood, in the flesh. His skin looked like that of Salem, a deathly white color with stray black and red markings. His eyes were black with red irises.

"How… How can she do that?" asked Ren. It was at that moment that Ruby had truly felt fear for the first time in her life. If Cinder could bring the dead back to life, was there any limit to what her power could do? Ren tried to occupy Roman with a constant stream of bullets while strafing to the left to dodge.

"Hey Weiss!" came a shout from below. Weiss blocked two shots from Roman using her glyphs and ran to the opposite side of the room, peering down to see Qrow and Glynda watching from below. "Little help Ice Queen?" Weiss raised Myrtenaster above her head and a trail of glyphs streaked up the wall to where her feet rested on the ledge. Qrow grabbed Glynda and sped up the wall, reaching the top and removing his sword as he set Glynda down. "Thanks."

"I could have just used my telekinesis to bring us up here," Glynda reminded him. He chuckled.

"I trusted my ability to run up the wall while carrying you more," He said with a devious grin. She scowled.

"I'll have you know-"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed spotting him. The temporary reunion was enough of a distraction and Roman blasted Weiss right out of the tower. "Weiss!" Ruby used her speed and caught up to Weiss, grabbing her, and used the recoil from her gun to slow their descent. They landed and tumbled apart. "Weiss are you okay?!"

"I'm fine Ruby." Weiss stood up and brushed herself off. "We need to get back up there though, I think that Cinder's trying to separate us." Just then a loud roar came from the bottom of the tower that shook both of them. "What was that?"

"It sounded like a Beringel," Ruby suggested as she flipped her weapon open from gun form to scythe form.

"Don't be ridiculous, Beringels have never been spotted around Beacon, Vale, or Mountain Glenn for that matter." The earth shook slightly as something slammed against the tower doors.

"Yeah, but we also chased the rest of the Grimm out of the area too. I think she's forming new ones." The wall was smashed apart and the Beringel came at them full speed. They dove out of the way but it managed to grasp Ruby's cape and launched her towards the dorms. "Weiss!" Her voice trailed off and Weiss leapt to her feet. The Beringel beat its chest and screamed at Weiss.

"No." Weiss told it matter of factly. It cocked its head and sauntered up to Weiss, this time roaring in her face. "No!" She planted Myrtenaster into the ground and glyph appeared under the Beringel. When it broke, the beast's body was stuck in a large block of ice. It howled as Weiss took off for Ruby, using her gravity Dust,

Meanwhile back at the tower, Grimm had overrun Reese, Nora, and Flynt, and had begun breaching the room at the top.

"Glynda, I got a hole at the bottom that needs patching or this tower is going down! Flynt, get Reese back up here. Yatsuhashi and her will focus on Roman. We'll have to continue the plan without Ruby and Weiss. I'll handle the Grimm. The remaining members of JNPR and Flynt will find a way down to the vault!" Qrow commanded, directing them about in different directions. Glynda leapt down, using her telekinesis to slow her descent.

"Not so fast Qrow, I'm not finished with all of you up there. The real fun is about to start." Cinder chuckled, her voice filling the entire room once again. Her ash and embers swept through the room again, this time embedding themselves into the flowers and letters that had been left to remember Pyrrha. They swirled about, cycloning in the center before being joined by more embers that formed together and packed against each other tightly. They crumbled away and there stood Pyrrha, only she didn't look like Salem or Roman… She looked alive.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled. An erie and ringing silence filled his ears and everything else going on around him faded from his mind. For a couple of moments he was overwhelmed with emotion that welled up in his chest. He remembered lying in a heap on the street in Vale as he watched her aura deplete on his scroll, but now here she was, as if she had never been gone. His heart thrashed inside of his chest and he fought back tears. He ran for her but quickly found her spear at his neck. "Pyrrha?"

"I'm sorry Jaune. I'm not in control of my body. All of you should leave now. Please." She begged them to go as she explained the situation, but Jaune shook his head in refusal.

"I won't leave you again Pyrrha! I can't." He threw down his shield and sword, along with his chest piece, and kicked them away, watching them slide off of the edge of the tower. He had protected himself from her using her polarity directly, but she still had her weapons, and he was still the same as he had always been. But as his mind tried its hardest to make him believe that all hope was gone, he could hear Ozpin's voice in his head, in his soul, telling him that he was there for a reason. "How are you here?"

"She never finished me off. She used her powers to turn me into glass Dust and seal me inside of another dimension, to be used later." Jaune stayed there unmoving, the tip of her spear still pressed slightly against his throat.

Qrow tore apart several Ursai and turned to Jaune.

"Go Jaune! I'll deal with her." Jaune glanced back at Qrow, his look intense. Qrow had never seen such fire in the boy's eyes before.

"With all due respect sir, I'm not leaving." Jaune told Qrow with a commanding tone. Qrow was in disbelief at the level of Jaune's intensity. At that moment Yatsuhashi batted Roman into Reese who riddled him with bullets until he slid out of the building. The cane's hook caught the ledge and Nora smashed it apart.

"Whoops!" she exclaimed. Without warning the building shifted dramatically, throwing the huntresses and huntsmen off of their feet.

"Glynda!" Qrow shouted. As the building tilted, he noted the growing number of Grimm at the base. "All of you, get down there and assist Glynda! I'm heading to the basement. Jaune…" Qrow pried open the elevator doors and looked down. He gave one last look to Jaune. "Be careful kid." Jaune nodded and took a few steps back as the rest of his teammates leapt from the tower. Pyrrha withdrew her spear and held it close to her body.

"It's just you and me Pyrrha." She threw her shield at him and it made a direct line for his chest. It slammed off and he grabbed it on the rebound, refusing to let go and he was dragged back to her. He ducked as her spear narrowly missed his head but managed to keep his grip. She tossed it away from her and he let go before being tossed from the tower. "Snap out of it!" His feet dangled over the edge momentarily before he pulled them back in and leapt back up.

"It's not that easy!" she yelled, almost screaming. Tears began to fill her eyes. "Leave Jaune! I don't know if I could live with myself if I killed you." He hesitated for a moment. He wanted to do what she asked, but he wouldn't leave her again. He couldn't. He sprinted at her again, diving as her shield returned to her and leaping back to his feet, moving faster than he ever had. Her spear whirred and shifted into its rifle form and shot just over Jaune's shoulder as he reached her. He tried to pull it into his hands but her polarity was stronger and pulled back the other way, leaving just the toes of his feet to slide across the floor. Her shield slammed into his stomach and he coughed up blood as he hit the ground. "Go Jaune! Please! I'm sorry!"

He slowly stood as he wiped the blood from his mouth, her rifle pointed at his chest. "I won't leave you Pyrrha." Pyrrha trembled. The shot rang out and there was a bright flash. Jaune was somehow unharmed and he had managed to grab her arm. He was wearing some sort of specialized gauntlet that Ironwood had created, allowing him to drain his opponent's aura almost instantly. They had meant for it to be used on Cinder, but Jaune knew he had to use it now. "I love you Pyrrha."

"And I love you… Jaune…" With that she passed out and the gauntlet shattered.

"Ruby!" Weiss ran to the spot where Ruby had smashed through several buildings and come to a stop after sliding for a while. The beast had done in the majority of her aura and Ruby was covered in scrapes and bruises. Weiss held her in her arms "Ruby! Hey! Come on! Stay with me!"

"Weiss…" Ruby breathed. "I love…"

"Yes?"

"I love…"

"Yes?!"

"I love Zwei." Ruby fell limp and stuck out her tongue. Weiss dropped her and stood up, folding her arms.

"I don't think that's funny you dolt!" Ruby snorted and giggled as she stood up and kissed Weiss on the cheek. Weiss turned to look at her and smiled, rolling her eyes.

"I love you too Weiss." The moment was interrupted as the Beringel sniffed them out and spotted them from the end of the street. He threw Boarbatusks at them, two of which Weiss threw back with explosive glyphs using fire Dust. Ruby sliced the third in half and it dissolved into smoke. The Beringel charged again, catching the Grimm that had been thrown back and swinging them wildly. Ruby dove out of the way and grabbed Weiss as she sped down a side alley using her semblance. "How do we get rid of this thing? We gotta get back to the tower."

"You don't have a plan?" asked Weiss smirking. Ruby smiled and brushed her off.

"Of course I do. Psh… Seriously? I always have a plan." The Beringel growled from the rooftops. "Right now the plan involves evasive action!" They ran down the alley and Ruby pointed at the dead end. "Up there!" Weiss formed glyphs up the wall and Ruby swung around as they reached the top, Crescent Rose transforming into its gun form. "Ice!"

"Do you think this will be enough?" asked Weiss.

"Enough to slow him. What do you have left in Myrtenaster?" She formed a glyph and Ruby fired through it, barraging the Beringel in ice shards.

"Another fire and gravity."

"Did you bring any of my specialized ammo?" Ruby asked. Weiss changed the glyph to gravity as the ice ran out and the next shot from Ruby sent the beast off of the roofs. Weiss threw open Ruby's satchel. "Is it possible to create water? We don't seem to have any in here."

"With ice and fire I would imagine…" Weiss offered but was cut off when the roof they were on crumbled out from under them and they fell into the building, their ammo scattering everywhere. Weiss glanced off the beast and landed on her side, a splitting pain shooting up through her body. She scrambled away in a crawl of sorts until she rounded the corner of the next room, managing to sit. She held her side, until her aura began healing the area, any movement was bound to cause her pain. Where had Ruby ended up? Where was their ammo? "Ruby!" Ruby's body flew past her into the room, bleeding from a cut along her temple. Weiss's heart stopped for a moment. Was Ruby dead? She remained motionless. Suddenly, the Beringel screamed in pain and Weiss pulled herself to the doorway and peered out. The Grimm had been thrown from the building and through several more, where it rested, dazed, impacted in the front of one of the dorms.

A woman with a white cloak entered the room, walking right past Weiss, and knelt next to Ruby, lifting her head to look at the girl.

"Oh Ruby. You've grown into a better huntress than I ever could have hoped to have been," the woman spoke out loud. Weiss was stunned. She couldn't move. This couldn't be…She had only ever seen her in pictures or heard about her in a hundred stories that Yang and Ruby had told her. The woman removed her hood and revealed skin and markings like Salem, but her eyes were still silver. "This can't be how it ends for you my sweet rose."

* * *

Hey everybody, Silent Celica here, just dropping in to say thanks again and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3! Also, how about that ending, huh? Come back next week to find out what happens! *Insert your own generic author notes here for even more fun!*


	4. Prologue : Part 4

"Summer?" Weiss asked in disbelief, almost stuttering. Summer didn't look back at her, but her gaze stayed fixated on Ruby.

"Yes, and you must be Weiss" Summer told her. She gently set Ruby's head back on the ground and slowly stood.

"How do you know who I am? And how are you alive?!" Weiss demanded. Summer still watched her daughter who lay motionless on the floor.

"I know about your whole team, it's all Salem ever spoke about on the other side. The four of you were the first threat that ever truly scared her." Summer told her as white petals slowly began to float around her. "As for why I'm alive…" She finally turned and looked Weiss in the eyes. "I'm guessing you don't know the story of Salem's creation. That's the only reason I can imagine being back. Cinder is tampering with things that she just doesn't fully comprehend."

"Summer, I don't understand." The Beringel cried out in the distance. Summer looked out at the monster.

"I may be able to activate Ruby's power for a short time…" Her attention turned back to Weiss. "Weiss, I need you to promise me something."

"Anything." Weiss finally found her feet, wincing in pain, but she did note that it wasn't as bad as it was initially.

"Weiss, my job was to protect my daughter and watch over her in her time of need." Summer paused for a moment to look back at her daughter and returned her gaze to Weiss "I need you to promise me that you'll protect her and make up for the pain that I left her with when I died."

"Summer… I..." Weiss could trace the line that the tears had made down Summer's face.

"Promise me… Please…" Summer's pleading was too much. Weiss would have agreed either way, but watching Ruby's mother broken like this tore Weiss apart. Weiss would protect Ruby, no matter what the cost.

Weiss nodded.

"I promise, I will protect her with all that I am." Summer began to cry harder and Weiss felt a pain she had never known. She had never felt such a responsibility before.

"Thank you Weiss." Summer's eyes ignited in silver and she turned again to face Ruby.

"What.. what are you doing!?"

"Protecting my daughter!" The silver light engulfed her and she disappeared, leaving behind her rose petals that wrapped themselves around Ruby, as if placing her in a cocoon of sorts. The roar of the beast snapped Weiss out of it and she ran out into the street, Myrtenaster lifted and ready.

"I will protect Ruby." She lifted the sword and in the street in front of her a huge glyph tore open and the earth around her shook violently. "For Ruby!" The glyph closed suddenly. Weiss stood, confused for a moment before the glyph reappeared and slowly fell to the ground, revealing the Giant Armor. "I did it… I did it!" Weiss swiped her sword up and the Armor glowed red, infused with her fire Dust. "Kick his ass."

The Armor ran at the Beringel, slowly building up speed until it arrived and swung its sword. The Beringel ducked under and grappled the Giant Armor, but it wouldn't move. It screeched louder and louder until the Armor broke free and swung down striking the Beringel in the shoulder. As it tried to pull away there was an explosion and its arm was torn off and dispersed into smoke. The beast beat its chest with its one remaining hand and the Armor wound up and swung, decapitating it. It collapsed to the ground and faded into smoke all at once. The Armor slowly returned to Weiss and Weiss nodded at it, pleased with the results.

"Weiss?" came Ruby's voice from behind her. She turned around to see Ruby standing there, stretching her arms above her head as if she had just woken up from a refreshing nap. The last of Summer's petals scattered about. "Did we win?" Weiss threw her arms around Ruby and held back tears. Ruby had died in front of her, there was no doubt in her mind it had happened. And Summer had saved her. "Weiss? What's going on?" Weiss let go of her and looked her over.

"I was just worried for a moment. That's all." Ruby smiled at her and Weiss's nerves calmed. Ruby was back to normal. "I was able to defeat the Beringel," she stated to Ruby in a matter of fact sort of manner. "But we still need to take down Cinder." Ruby yawned and squinted in the setting sun.

"How long was I out for?" Weiss gazed into Ruby's eyes. What was happening? Weiss had never seen that before. "Weiss?"

"Not long… Do your eyes normally glow silver? I mean, I know they're silver normally, but right now they're glowing."

"The last time anyone mentioned anything like that was when I froze the dragon and Cinder disappeared." Ruby looked at her hands. "I don't feel too different, but we should get going."

"Ok." Ruby searched through her mostly empty sack and handed two gravity vials to Weiss.

"If we ride that… Giant… Knight thing, this should be enough to get us back, right?" Ruby asked her. Weiss nodded and created a glyph that allowed them to leap onto the Armor and it took off for the school. As they neared, they could see that the number of Grimm had increased greatly, and everyone appeared to be defending Glynda. Ruby shot off and her scythe transformed into a spear of sorts. She impaled an Ursa that had somehow gotten behind Yatsuhashi. Yatsuhashi nodded at her in acknowledgement. "Where's Uncle Qrow and Jaune?"

"Qrow's a stubborn fool. I told him we should call Winter and wait for her to arrive, but he said there was no time and if we let Cinder get away again, every effort we had made to this point would have been wasted," Glynda explained still holding the tower up for the moment. The Giant Armor helped push the tower back in place. "You two should get in there and help him." Ruby nodded and she and Weiss were off. They pressed the button for the elevator but nothing happened.

"Right… Cinder destroyed it." Ruby said. She looked down the shaft.

"Going down?" asked a voice from above. Ruby looked up to see Jaune slowly floating down with Pyrrha on her shield.

"Pyrrha?!" Ruby screamed. "You… I saw you…"

"Hello!" she replied smiling. "It would appear that destiny has decided that I should get another chance." Jaune's gear floated past Weiss and into Jaune's arms.

"Shall we?" asked Jaune. Ruby leapt onto Jaune's shield and held her hand out to Weiss.

"Come on Weiss," she said with a smile. Weiss smiled back. Ruby was always so confident. As Weiss stepped onto the shield, they dropped into the depths, and whatever it was that Cinder had in store for them in the vault.

"Can't we just talk about this Cinder? You seem like a reasonable young woman who knows what she wants," Qrow offered slowly making his way deeper into the vault. His scythe was drawn, and he held it above his head, ready to strike. "You of all people seem like the kind of person who'd could work this out over a cup of coffee… or liquor, matter of personal preference really."

"You're right Qrow, I _do_ know what I want. All I want is power. More power than I have now even. When Salem promised me such things, I could only imagine… Could only dream of how it would make me feel. But this, feels so much better," Cinder replied. It still felt as if her voice was all around him and for a moment, he wondered if he had made a mistake coming down here alone.

Cinder fired an arrow through the darkness of the black room and it hit its mark as Qrow side stepped to avoid it. The fastening for Ozpin's cane to Qrow's belt was skimmed across, but it was enough for the strap to break and Ozpin's weapon hit the floor as Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha stepped off of the elevator.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Jaune asked Pyrrha. She smiled and nodded.

"I feel my strength returning already."

"Ruby, look!" exclaimed Weiss pointing. Ruby was gone in a flash and reached Ozpin's cane. As she picked it up she came face to face with Cinder. Cinder reached out and gripped her neck, lifting her up. Fire filled the girl's eyes as Ruby could see herself trying to hold back from giving in completely. "Ruby!"

"That's the only reason you still look normal isn't it?" asked Ruby gasping. "This isn't as strong as you could be. You want to maintain what's left of your humanity, don't you? You want to be as strong as Her, but you don't want to _be_ Her." Ruby struggled against Cinder's grip, trying to pry her hand open. Qrow made an attempt to step in but was thrown back by an explosion from Cinder.

"She warned me about you. She told me that you're probably the only one who can stop me, and it's all because of those damn silver eyes." Ruby's eyes lit up, the silver light pouring out of them and allowing the others to see her talking with Cinder. "To be honest Ruby, I was waiting for at least you to show up before I fully gave in. It's the only way that we can win. And you **will** lose… Just like your mother." Ruby felt everything stop at that moment. Rose petals rose up from the ground and slowly drifted around the two of them and Ruby dropped Ozpin's cane on the floor. She knocked Cinder's hand away with a swift chop from her arm, landing on the floor and kicking Ozpin's cane back to Jaune. Ruby began to levitate, as if she wasn't in control of her body, her body concealed in the silver light.

"Ruby…" Weiss called out silently in wonder and fear. As much as they all wanted to help, they stood paralyzed, unsure of what to do. Qrow stood up, still gripping his sword, waiting for an opening.

"Just like every time," Cinder said as she walked slowly away from Ruby. Her body began to transform into a body similar to Salem's. "Destined to war, like man and Grimm, the Silver Eyes will always fight the Salems… and lose." Cinder dropped to her knees and cried out in pain as the disease took over her entire body. "Ozpin was the wizard of the story, and he bestowed upon the maidens great power. But in his ignorance, he never took into account the fact that in order to make that much good, that much evil must also be created. And so the first Salem was born, a creature made of darkness, just like the Grimm, but of human form. With no capacity to love and no purpose, Salem sought a never ending revenge on Ozpin for creating her through negligence.

"So she attacked him right out and it was then that it was discovered that Ozpin's wife, who had silver eyes, had great power against Salem, but was only able to stop her temporarily. Thousands of years later and here we are, playing it out all over again. The only difference this time is that you're the last one. Shall we?" The petals that slowly drifted around them converged on Ruby, covering her scythe and body. Ruby landed on her feet and removed Crescent Rose, which transformed quickly into its gun form, the rose petals scattering in every direction.

"You first." Cinder formed her blades and moved at blinding speed for Ruby who never moved or flinched once, firing off several shots that passed right through Cinder and transforming it back to its scythe form at the last moment. The blades met the scythe and Ruby swung forward suddenly, shattering the blades and causing them to dissipate. She kicked Cinder in the chest and she slid back and Ruby was right in front of her again, twirling about with the Crescent spinning about her. Cinder reformed her blades in time to glance off several blows and she threw Ruby back with an explosion. Ruby rolled twice before finding her feet. Cinder formed glass shards from her Dust and barraged Ruby, but as they arrived, a wall of rose petals absorbed the projectiles, dropping them to the ground.

Ruby let out a battle cry and strafed left with impossible speed before disappearing. She reappeared in an explosion of petals as she tackled Cinder from the right and they both vanished.

"Qrow, what's happening?" demanded Weiss. Qrow shook slightly before dropping to his knees.

"It's happening all over again."

"What is?" asked Jaune. Qrow looked back at the three of them. He pointed to Jaune.

"When Ruby pins her down, you need to hit her with that and whatever you do, don't let up." Jaune nodded and he and Pyrrha left back up the shaft. Qrow turned away again and stared into the abyss before him.

"Qrow?" Weiss placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Summer and Salem. On the Cliffside. This feels just like their battle all over again." He slowly stood, not yet facing her.

"Summer… I saw Summer." He turned to Weiss and slowly stepped to her, grabbing her shoulders.

"What did you just say?"

"I saw Ruby's mother. She made me promise to take care of her once this battle was over." Qrow stared at Weiss in bewilderment.

"In order to make that much good, evil must be created…" Qrow trailed off as he walked past her towards the shaft.

"What?"

"I need a lift." Weiss sent her glyphs up the shaft and they ran.

They reappeared in the school's courtyard and Cinder shoved herself off of Ruby, smashing through one of the pillars before coming to a stop in the foliage beyond. Cinder chuckled and cackled before cracking and laughing in a maniacal manner.

"So innocent and naive. Such confidence there in your eyes." Cinder sprang out and weaved back and forth before striking Ruby with the edge of her bow, sending her sprawling. She fired three arrows simultaneously and Ruby cut through two of them, the third inches from her face before an explosion of petals eliminated the threat.

"Jaune!" yelled Pyrrha. She threw her shield and he wore the straps on his feet, sailing through the air before hitting Cinder with a blast from Ozpin's weapon. Cinder deflected some of the energy with a glass shield, but the rest blasted into her, causing her skin to smoke like a Grimm that had been killed. She instantly caught up to Pyrrha's shield, and slammed it into the ground, sending Jaune into the crater.

"Jaune!" yelled Weiss. "Fire!" A glyph opened between Cinder and Jaune and he blasted at her again, as the beam passed through Weiss's glyph it became lightning, and ravaged Cinder's body. She stood convulsing before redirecting it out of her body and back at Weiss. Weiss had no time to prepare for the attack and it crashed into her, sending her skipping off of the ground for hundreds of feet.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out. Cinder lifted Jaune with her power and tossed him into Pyrrha, creating a glass dome over herself and Ruby.

"No more interruptions," Cinder stated but as she looked up, Ruby was nowhere to be found. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as the tip of Crescent Rose swung by in front of her and heard the gunshot, pulling the scythe through her and bisecting her. Both halves hit the ground. Ruby stood for a moment, out of breath as the woman before her cracked and fell apart, like a broken ice sculpture. There was an uncontrollable laughter behind Ruby that was pretentious and cold. "You can't beat me Ruby." Ruby flinched as she felt Cinder's blades at her back. Ruby fired Crescent, slamming the end of the scythe into Cinder's chest. Cinder reeled back and began throwing an endless flurry of glass projectiles. A wall of rose petals separated the two again and Cinder's anger grew deeper and her attack became more relentless. Without warning one passed through and Ruby had no time to stop it. Just then, Ruby thought she caught the glimpse of a hand reached out from the petals and catching it before pulling it in.

Both Ruby and Cinder became motionless and the wall disappeared, but there was no one there. Cinder reached forward with her hands forming claws and threw them back, opening the ground below them and her glass dome shattered apart. Cinder smiled as Jaune fired several shots and she deflected them all without looking.

"Let's go Ruby," Cinder spoke. "Show me what your eyes can do." Ruby disappeared, and reappeared hundreds of feet from Cinder, which gave her time to build up speed and plan her attack. Cinder tore more of the earth open, and another two Beringels crawled out close to the tower.

"Pyrrha!" yelled Weiss forming a line of glyphs.

"Going!" She took off running.

"Time's almost up! Did you really think you stood a chance?" The Beringels roared at Ruby and she looked on at Cinder, undeterred as her eyes glowed more intensely. "Come on then!"

Ruby strafed with amazing speed to the left and Cinder did a double take. There were two of them?! The second was different though, wearing a white cloak instead. Ruby hadn't noticed her doppelganger yet and reached Cinder just ahead of the other, swinging her scythe. Cinder ducked, only to have her feet pulled out by the other and then have her body sliced in half by the original. She shattered and Ruby's clone disappeared for a moment. A shot was heard from the foliage and Cinder flew through the air, Ruby landed a second shot that threw Cinder towards the dorms. The two ran side by side towards Cinder's landing spot, the fake getting there first and spiraling around Cinder, pulling her into the air. Ruby leapt and hooked Cinder with Crescent Rose, firing and bisecting Cinder again. The clone shattered.

Ruby shot off sprinting to her left, her elbow crashing through Cinder's jaw, who had used her glass Dust to make herself transparent. The white cloak caught Cinder as she slid back and threw her back at Ruby. Cinder formed her swords as she was sent back at Ruby, but once again Ruby met them with her scythe and shattered them, kneeing Cinder in the chest. Ruby formed Crescent into a spear and charged Cinder who blocked with a glass shield but was brutally greeted by the other's scythe. It sliced through her and the glass clone shattered again. Ruby was frozen for a moment as her clone took off to find Cinder again and she finally realized what was happening.

"Mom?" Summer froze in her tracks.

"I'm ending this now!" yelled Cinder. She had formed a huge pike of glass and threw it at Ruby, only for Summer to teleport to the other side of her and destroy it with a swing of her weapon, splicing it directly in two. It fell to the ground. "No… no… no!" Summer became a vortex of rose petals, her scythe striking out of the confusion with amazing speed as Jaune and Qrow reached the battle.

"Now Jaune!" yelled Qrow. Summer dispersed, tackling Ruby out of the way as Jaune threw the full might of the other maidens' energy at Cinder.

"Your team will be the ruin of this damned world!" screamed Cinder causing Ruby to shudder. Salem had told her the same thing before she was sealed away again. Cinder's body was torn apart and smoke rolled off of her and she let out a blood curdling scream. When the chaos dispersed, all that was left was a statue of Cinder, screaming in fear and pain. Summer held Ruby for a moment longer before Ruby pushed slightly away to look at her.

"Mom?" Ruby asked nodded and Ruby threw her arms around her. "Mom… I love you! I was so angry growing up! I just needed you."

"I know." Summer replied. "I was almost done with being a huntress when it happened and as I died…" Summer choked on the words. "You were all that I could think about…"

"It's okay mom. I understand." Summer let go of the hug and looked Ruby over.

"I'm so proud of you Ruby." Weiss teared up slightly as the two hugged and turned as a shouting came from behind her.

"Weiss! All of the Grimm that Cinder created are dissipating!" shouted Nora. Weiss looked back at Ruby and Summer who were approaching her.

"This is my girlfriend… Weiss." Ruby blushed. Summer smiled at Weiss and nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you." Weiss looked back at Summer knowingly. The only way that Ruby would maintain her innocence and naivety was not knowing that Summer had saved her from death. Summer slowly began to dissolve.

"Mom?"

"I have to go Ruby… but I can see that Weiss loves you as much as I did and still do. Hold on to her Ruby." Tears filled Ruby's eyes and she nodded.

"I will mom! I promise!" Weiss looked at Ruby. So there it was. They had promised to protect and love each other no matter what came their way. "I love you mom!"

"And I love you Ruby." With that she completely disappeared and they stood there for a moment before Ruby fell to her knees.

"Ruby, are you okay?!" asked Weiss. Qrow picked her up and carried her back towards the tower. Ruby nodded and yawned.

"Yeah… I think… Maybe I overdid it… Just a little bit…" Ruby lightly snored as Qrow chuckled.

"She'll be fine." He walked back with Weiss and Jaune.

"I wonder what's next for all of us?" asked Jaune.

"Whatever it is, it can't be as crazy as this," Weiss replied laughing.

* * *

Foreshadowing! Foreshadowing? Probably. Join us next Sunday when things start to get real exciting, including a White Rose wedding!

Next Week : Chapter 1 - Until Death Do Us Part!


	5. Chapter 1 - Until Death Do Us Part

Weiss paced back and forth, driving herself crazy and triple checking her hair in the mirror as the door on the far side of the small room opened, and there stood Winter.

"Winter!" Exclaimed Weiss as she ran to her sister and they exchanged a long embrace. "You made it here on time! I heard that your flight had been delayed! Is father with you?" Winter shook her head before stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.

"He's still upset over the fact that he didn't get his way in any of this, and that with you and Ruby getting married, there will be no heir to the company, considering that I can't have children." Weiss turned away, everything she had felt that day was bliss for the most part but her father not showing up left her feeling uneasy. "Hey." Winter had placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder, causing her to turn back towards her sister. "I'm proud of you. Not every decision we make is going to make father happy. Sometimes you have to make the decision that makes you happy."

"You're right," Weiss agreed nodding slightly and smiled, hugging her sister again. The door swung open again, revealing Blake and Yang, both in their red bridesmaid's dresses with black accents. They were similar to Winter's, with Winter's being light blue with white accents. "How much longer?!"

"Relax Weiss, it's still another 15 minutes," Blake informed her. The two girls closed the door behind them and Weiss sat in a wooden chair in the middle of the room.

"Nerves getting to you?" Asked Yang.

"They've been getting to me since I woke up this morning." She looked up at the three women. "I just want it to be perfect." Yang stifled a laugh, or did her best to.

"You realize you're marrying Ruby, right? This wedding will be far from perfect."

"Yang…" Scolded Blake.

"No." Laughed Weiss. "She's right. There's always some sort of nonsense going on when Ruby is nearby… Oh! Let me see it!" Blake blushed and Yang nudged her.

"Go on babe! Show her the ring!" Yang exclaimed. Blake held out her hand and Weiss grabbed it, inspecting it closely with Winter.

"It's gorgeous!" Exclaimed Winter.

"How'd she propose?" Asked Weiss.

"Yang did it when we took down the last ranking officer of the Fang a few weeks ago." Explained Blake.

"I was gonna just do it during a fish fry but I figured this moment was a better time to do it." Blake smiled as Yang wrapped her arms around her from behind.

"She knows me well."

"Who is your other bridesmaid then?" Asked Winter.

"Pyrrha. It's a good thing Cinder brought her back because I might have felt obligated to choose Nora." Weiss told them. They laughed.

"Or Ren." Offered Blake. They laughed again.

"We'll go check on Ruby and we'll see you once this party gets started." Yang said as she opened the door. The two of them left and closed the door, heading over to check in on Ruby.

* * *

Ruby looked out the window of the small room she had been given to get ready in and smiled as she watched the guests walk towards the church. She'd catch the occasional eye, jumping up and down and waving.

"What are you doing?" Asked Blake opening the door. Ruby's dress was long and black, contrasting against Weiss's, which was white, and complementing those of her bridesmaids. Ruby spun away from the window and squealed as she ran to her sister and Blake, throwing an arm around each of them.

"I was greeting everybody!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm so excited!" Ruby let go of them and moved back to the window, peering out once more.

"I've been meaning to ask sis, when did you start falling for Weiss anyways?" Yang asked as she sat down and removed her mechanical arm for a moment, rubbing where it connected to her bicep.

"When we met and I spilled her Dust all over the ground. She's so cute when she's angry." Ruby told them smiling. The door slowly swung open and Coco smirked, closing the door as she entered.

"Hey Red. I thought you'd be in here alone." Coco stated as she set down her purse.

"Nah. The girls are keeping me company. Tell Velvet I said thanks again for being co-dj with Fox!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Yeah! I'm sure she'll keep the place... jumping!" Yang offered, pausing for recognition.

"Psh!" Ruby scoffed. Blake shook her head.

"Yeah, I'll let her know," Coco replied. She leaned against a bookshelf near the door with her elbow and rested the side of her head on her hand.

"Hey, while we're on the subject, when are you gonna propose to Velvet?" Asked Yang. Coco lost her balance for a moment and regained her composure.

"Velv… I…"

"She'll do it when she's ready," offered Ruby. Coco smiled and nodded. _Thanks Red._

"Exactly." Coco picked her purse back up and brushed off her elbow. "I really like your earrings Red. Where'd you get them?" Ruby felt her ears.

"Oh! They're my emblem! Weiss got them custom made…" Ruby's face turned from excitement to horror. "Oh no! I forgot Weiss's gift!" Ruby opened the window and began climbing out. Yang reattached her arm and leapt up, walking over to Ruby, wondering if she should try to pull her back in or not.

"Uh sis… What are you doing?" She asked.

"I have to go back to the apartment quick!"

"Couldn't you have used the door?" Ruby grunted and landed on her feet. "Or couldn't someone else go?"

"I'm the fastest and I need it for the reception. There won't be time later. Plus if I went through the church, Weiss might have seen me!" Ruby took off sprinting. "I'll be back in a few minutes!"

"She's a strange one at times," Coco stated as she opened the door. She turned to leave but was face to face with Oobleck.

"Hello ladies. Aren't you all looking wonderful on this glorious day, and a fine one for a wedding if I'm so inclined to say so. Is the bride to be ready, or have her nerves gotten the best of her and she's now fleeing the situation to find the familiar solace that is cuddling with her beloved Zwei?" He asked without taking a breath at any point. He took a sip from his thermos.

"Nah, she just went to get something from her apartment." Yang explained. Coco took a few steps back.

"I see."

"Thanks for marrying my sister Oobleck. I know that we all learned a lot from your class."

"As you should have! History is one of the most important things that a person can learn from. It's what makes us who we are and shows us who we will be! And don't mention it, not many people are aware of the fact that during the summer I act as a justice of the peace." He turned away. "As soon as Ruby returns, we shall be ready to begin!"

* * *

"If anyone has any reason that these two should not be married, please speak now or forever hold your peace," Oobleck declared to the church full of people. Weiss had barely heard any of it though. The day she had long awaited was here and all that there was left to do was count the seconds until she'd kiss Ruby and they be able to be together forever. Ruby bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. She was smiling and mouthed 'I love you'. Weiss mouthed it back and sighed. This was the happily ever after she had always dreamed off.

But this, was no fairy tale…

"Everybody get down!" Shouted Coco as several explosions rocked the corner of building near Ruby and tore it apart. Blake tackled Yang and they dove out of the way as another explosion threw large debris in their direction.

"Ruby!" Yelled Weiss. She blocked a large hunk of brick flying for Ruby with a glyph and Ruby stumbled as the ground shifted around her. Another section exploded, catching Weiss off guard and one of the bricks nailed Ruby in the temple. The ceiling and wall collapsed on top of her. "Ruby!" Panic hit and Weiss ran for the rubble.

"Weiss!" Shouted Coco as her purse transformed and she fired into the gaping hole in the wall. Heavily armored men with masks similar to Raven's poured into the building. Pyrrha moved to behind Coco and held up what she could with her polarity. "This whole side of the building is gonna go down!"

"I'm not leaving Ruby!" Weiss pulled the bricks off of Ruby as quickly as possible.

"Can anyone offer me support?!" Coco fired blindly for a moment as she glanced back towards the wedding guests.

"This is a wedding for The Maidens' sake! No one else brought their weapons!" Yelled Winter. The doors leading to the foyer were thrown open and three people stood there that no one recognized. In front stood a slender woman in her early 20s, average height. She had green hair that was short and parted to the right side, the other side of her head appeared short, almost buzz cut length. She had Amber colored eyes that resembled those of snakes and a deep purple lipstick. Her dress was purple with snakeskin print, mid length with a deep v-neck and a slit on the front right. She had a golden bracelet on each wrist that resembled snakes and a matching belt. The two behind her only looked old enough to still be students.

"Shit." She surveyed the scene for a second. "Ivory, grab Ms. Schnee. Rowan, Ms. Rose."

"Mmm." Rowan nodded. He had short red spiked hair and dark eyes that were close to black. He and Ivory were dressed in servers' clothing and the back of his shirt was instantly torn away, revealing two large bird wings that had red and orange feathers and appeared to be on fire. He spread them and leapt into the air, flying for the other end of the room. The wedding guests scattered in confusion, some of them shoving past each other to get to the lobby and hopefully grab their weapons if they were nearby.

"Yes Jade," replied Ivory. She was the tallest of the three and slender, but it was obvious that she was still a force to be reckoned with. The girl had long white hair that flowed past the small of her back and light blue eyes. Her uniform was also torn to reveal two large white eagle's wings and she took of running down the aisle.

"Hey!" Demanded Coco. Jade glanced at her briefly before returning her gaze back to her two accomplices. "Who the hell are you and what's going on here!?"

"I'd love to explain, but if you'd just shut up and watch for a moment…" She held her hand out in front of her, as if expecting something to be placed in it. Streaks of orange Dust, similar to Cinder's, danced around her dress. Two glass, intense light green, curved daggers formed in her hand. "You might just learn something." Coco turned her gun towards the woman who tilted her head slightly and smirked.

"Velvet, I don't trust this one." Coco stared the woman down, who didn't seem to mind.

"Wait Coco. Maybe they're here to help. They don't look like these other men." Velvet stated. Coco muttered something and turned back towards the collapsing wall.

"Fine." Coco conceded. Jade chuckled and took off running after the other two. As Ivory arrived a large bit of ceiling fell above Weiss. She reached her just in time, and spread her wings. They glowed with a white luminance and the debris scattered off.

"Ms. Schnee, we need to get you somewhere safe!" Exclaimed Ivory over the commotion. Panic had fully set in and Weiss looked dazed, still trying to pull Ruby out. Ivory placed a hand on Weiss's back and Weiss shoved her away, shaking her head vigorously.

"I can't leave her! I can't!" Rowan landed next to Ivory.

"Ms. Schnee, let my brother help you." Ivory offered to Weiss. Weiss looked up at them, her eyes were wet and glossed over. She nodded. Rowan began pulling bricks and debris off of Ruby as Ivory towered over Weiss, protecting her, almost appearing angelic. Jade stabbed two men in the chest and pulled them quickly to the ground, a cracking audible as their faces met the floor. A roar filled the building and everyone stopped. At this point the masked men had stopped as well, nowhere to be seen.

"A Beringel?" Asked Yang as she entered back into the chapel with her gauntlets. Blake stood beside her, weaponless.

"At least someone thought ahead." Stated Coco. She moved beside Jade to get a view out through the torn down wall. "What the hell is that?!" The creature stood 12 feet tall like a Beringel, but was far more human. It was covered in black fur like that of any Grimm, but it's face was slightly unnerving. It had two small antlers, and half of its face was a armored bone plate like most, but the bone grafted back into the face, beneath the skin, where the nose separated the two sides. The other side of its face was white like Salem's. Its torso was covered in bone armor as were its arms and legs.

"Alettas! We need Ms. Rose out of there now!" Jade commanded. They both nodded. Jade turned to Coco. "You may want to take cover."

"I'm a huntress, I can help handle that… Thing." Coco told her.

"Not that." Jade clarified. Ivory wrapped herself around Weiss, making a protective shell with her wings, and Rowan flapped his wings once with great speed and strength, throwing all of the debris in front of him away. Coco knocked down a cluster with her gun. Ruby's body lay there motionless, a small stream of blood trickled from her mouth and down her chin. Yang and Blake ran down the aisle and grabbed her. "You four, get somewhere safe."

"I can help!" Exclaimed Yang. Jade shook her head but stumbled as the beast lumbering closer shook the ground.

"Fine, but at least get Ms. Schnee and Ms. Rose out of the way!" They took Ruby out into the foyer and Rowan and Ivory rejoined Jade. Weiss stumbled out of the room after Ruby.

"What's the plan?" Asked Ivory. Jade sized up the monster and took a few steps back.

"Formation 6," suggested Jade.

"You think that'll work?" Asked Ivory.

"It'll buy us time," answered Rowan. Jade looked behind her at Coco, Pyrrha, and Yang.

"It'll do more than that." Jade told them. Jade turned her back to the ensuing attack. "Ginger, drop that wall."

"I'm sorry. What did she call me?" Pyrrha asked blushing slightly. Coco shook her head.

"I see where this is going. Do it Pyrrha." Pyrrha released the wall and it fell, forcing the beast to have to slam through it again in a few moments. "Pyrrha stand there and Yang stand at the end of the aisle." Yang nodded, as she was just re-entering the room. Ivory removed a bow from her back that had been mostly hidden by her wings. The upper and lower limbs of the bow were shaped to look like eagle's wings and were razor sharp, with a gap between them for the grip. Rowan pulled off what was left of his server's jacket and revealed a chain that he wore like a sash. It connected in the back with two large barbed hooks and he unlatched them, quickly pulling it off of his body and holding a hook in each hand.

"You know what's going on?" Jade asked Coco. Coco smirked and readied her gun.

"I got a pretty good idea." Coco replied. As the beast smashed through the wall, Coco opened fire on the men that poured in with it.

"Now!" exclaimed Jade. Ivory took flight as her brother positioned himself behind the beast and she fired three arrows at once at the monster. The arrows were tipped with lightning Dust and exploded as they sailed past, blinding the beast for a moment. It stumbled and protested with a roar as Rowan threw his hook and Pyrrha used her power to tie up its legs and send the hook back to Rowan. He cinched it and Jade took a few steps, leaping up and plunging her daggers in between its bone plates and pulling down hard on it. Rowan yanked the chain and the beast began to fall, giving Jade a moment to roll out of the way. As Yang ran down the aisle towards it, Pyrrha crouched in the middle, a cluster of material held together above her. Yang leapt, landing in stride on the mass and Pyrrha launched her into the air. As she came down, her fist made contact with the beast and she fired a shot, slamming it to the floor.

"I doubt it's done," stated Jade. She leapt to her feet. "Formation 9!" Rowan leapt onto it's back before it could stand again and Ivory twisted the limbs of her bow. It transformed, sliding out into a bow staff with eagle wing blades on both ends facing opposite directions. Jade ran past them and snatched one of the men before Coco could mow him down. She slammed him against the wall and he trembled slightly as she licked her lips. Her finger traced against his chest and she moved to his ear. She whispered. "You'll do quite nicely."

"Get off…" His protests were silenced as she sank her teeth into his neck and injected her venom into him. His veins flared with a green glow for a moment before returning to normal.

"See?" She asked, still pinning him to the wall. "It's not so bad. I'm going to need you to go stand in front of that thing though."

"Of course." The man walked past the others as though he never saw them and stood in front of the creature. It roared and slowly began to stand, Rowan landing on the ground below and holding the chain taught, the hooks planted deep in its back.

"Don't just stand there, fire!" Jade demanded. The soldier opened fire on the monster and it reached down to grab him, unphased. Ivory spun the staff above her head and brought it down, slicing through one of its arms. It roared in pain, batting the soldier away before grabbing the spot where its limb had been. Yang flew in past Jade unexpectedly, causing Jade's attack to come up short as Yang landed several blows in its torso. She did a double backflip away from it as Pyrrha smashed it with the wall of debris she had formed. Rowan took his opening and pulled it to the ground, yanking the chains out and repositioning himself on top of the beast. A fire burned in his eyes as he looked back at Jade, almost awaiting her approval. She smirked slightly and gave a subtle nod.

His wings spread large above him, and they burst into flames that engulfed his body and danced down the chain to the hooks. He lifted them both and with a blinding speed swung wildly, shredding the bone armor from its body. Coco stopped firing for a moment as she, Yang, and Pyrrha watched in horror as Rowan tore the beast apart.

"Rowan dear," called out Jade as she moved close to him.

"Not yet!" He demanded, it almost coming out as a roar. She caught his left hand as he lifted it again and he swung his body around, his hook plunging towards her left shoulder. She stopped it with her left dagger and kicked him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards. He glowered up at her and prepared to leap for her as Ivory stepped between them. He landed short of his sister and screeched at her, the noise unsettling.

"Rowan!" He stood there motionless, his eyes intense. Slowly the flames in his eyes faded and his chest heaved as he came to. He looked down at the beast.

"Time to finish him." Jade slammed one of her daggers into its chest where its heart was. Jade glanced back and motioned with her head. "Hey Goldilocks… Can you do the honors?" Red flared in Yang's eyes and her hair lit up.

"Goldilocks?" Coco caught her arm before she could get too far.

"Yang." Yang looked at her arm and then Coco. "Just finish that thing off." Yang cracked an unnerving smile and took a few quick steps, leaping into the air and landing, Ember Celica firing the dagger right through the beast. The Grimm parts dissolved away and all that was left was a naked man, who lay dead in the middle of them. Coco walked over to them with Velvet close behind. Velvet moved to the man and looked him over, noting his antlers.

"Coco, I think this might be that same drug Adam was handing out at the last rally," Velvet stated as Coco knelt beside her. "This is awful. We need to tell Qrow."

"The real question is, was this a successful trial or a failure?" Coco stood up and helped Velvet to her feet. She thought that she and Velvet had tracked it down and destroyed all of it. "Dammit. Where the hell are Qrow and Taiyang?!"

"They left just before the end of the ceremony to set up a surprise for Ruby," Velvet replied.

"Are you okay?" asked Ivory as she looked her brother over. She brushed him off and adjusted his bowtie but he shoved her hand away.

"I'm fine." He replied, appearing to be coming down from his blinding rage. Coco turned with her weapon and pointed it at the three strangers.

"I'd still like to know who you three are, and what the hell you're doing here!" Coco demanded again. The church doors were opened again and a hysterical screaming could be heard in the next room. Rowan pushed past Ivory and Yang and headed down the aisle with a brisk pace. He reached the foyer to find Ruby lying on the ground motionless, Weiss laid on top of her, sobbing.

"This can't be how it ends! You were the one who loved me for who I was, not who I could be!" Weiss sobbed. _I promised Summer!_ Weiss's chest heaved, she remembered the look of regret and devastation on Summer's face as she entrusted Ruby's life to Weiss, the tears that were trailing down her face. In that moment, and again now, she could feel the entire weight of Summer's pain, but she had been helpless to save her. Something was broken inside of Weiss, and Ruby was the only one who could fix it now. Her body shook violently. She **needed** Ruby.

"May I?" asked Rowan. Weiss looked at him. Her eyes were red and pleading. She sniffed and nodded, not knowing what else to do. She let go and shuffled away as Rowan picked her up and wrapped his wings around them. His entire body gave off an aura similar to flames and it shone brighter and brighter. It reached its peak and quickly dissipated, leaving Weiss kneeling on the floor in curiosity and wonder. Rowan unwrapped them and shook his head slowly. "My semblance is to heal myself, and others on occasion, but Ruby is…"

"Don't say it!" Came a voice from behind him. Rowan turned slowly to face Yang, tears streaming down her face. "Don't… Don't say it…" Yang took her sister from Rowan and held her in her arms. "Ruby… Come on sis… Wake up!" Winter opened the doors to the parking lot and Qrow stepped into the building.

"I leave for one damn minute." Qrow took a deep breath. "I was afraid of this." He told Winter as he turned away, holding back his emotions. His body trembled as he tried to shake the image of Ruby lying dead in Yang's arms.

"Where's Taiyang?" Winter asked. He looked up at Winter, eyes wet, and turned back to the girls.

"He stayed back to finish preparations." Qrow pointed to Blake and motioned her over. "I hate to do this to you, but can you call Taiyang? I know this isn't easy for you either…" She nodded, eyes puffy.

"I understand Qrow. I'll get ahold of him." She replied.

"Thanks." He stared into the empty room behind him filled with balloons and gifts. The crippling sadness that had gripped him moments before had been instantly erased and replaced by an insatiable rage. He grabbed his sword off of his back and stormed into the sanctuary, marching down the aisle. "Move lady!" Jade dropped the soldier that she had poisoned before in time to miss Qrow pinning him to the wall with the blunt side of his blade. "Who sent you?!"

"I'm Raven's Claw…" Qrow shoved harder against the wall, teeth gritting together. The soldier grunted. Winter entered the sanctuary and began down the aisle.

"Qrow, don't do anything rash." Winter called out to him.

"Oh, I'm beyond rash Ice Queen." Qrow moved close to the man's face. "Am I making you uncomfortable kid? I already knew you were with Raven's Claw dumbass. The masks kind of gave that away. Who hired you?"

"You really wanna know?" The man asked still struggling. Winter now stood beside Qrow.

"Now _I_ really want to know," Winter told him.

"And trust me pal, her bad side is a hundred times worse than mine." The man smirked and chuckled.

"The King of Dust himself. Mr. Schnee." Winter trembled slightly and she tried to stop quivering, a slight nausea rising up inside of her. Qrow noted the effect the words had on her and shoved him against the wall even harder than before.

"You're lying. Who really sent you?" The man laughed louder now.

"What reason have I to lie? He sent us and he told us that he wanted Ruby dead so that maybe, someday, he'd have another chance at having an heir to the throne." The man's cackling grew and grew until it became uncontrollable for him. Winter's shaking stopped and she stared hard at the floor, her eyes dark. She turned quickly and wrenched Qrow's sword away from him without warning, pulling it back and impaling the man through the chest. He groaned in pain and was silenced. She removed it and he fell to the ground.

"And you told **me** not to do anything rash," scoffed Qrow as he removed his flask. He took the weapon from her and placed his sword on his back again. Winter shook in anger and fear and paced, stopping for a moment to look at Qrow.

"Qrow… He… He wouldn't. My father is cold but…" He replaced the flask after taking a sip and walked over to Winter, wrapping his arms around her.

"I find it hard to believe that it was your father. He can be a dick at times, but he would never stoop this low…"

"Excuse me… Qrow?" asked Coco as she approached them.

"Yeah?" He kissed Winter's forehead and moved her head back to his chest, still holding her close.

"Who the hell were the others that came in and kicked that thing's ass?!" Qrow sighed and let go of Winter so that he could explain. She moved to the nearest pew and sat as Qrow rubbed the back of his neck.

"Listen Coco, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I figured the less people that were in on it, the better. Jade, Rowan, and Ivory are all part of a newly formed Faunus Only security team. They're trying to turn around the image that the White Fang had created of Faunus. A heroes for hire sort of thing, and I wanted them to be here in case something happened because let's face it, Team RWBY has destroyed every evil that Salem could throw at it for the last several years. I knew there was a target on their backs…" Qrow stopped short. His eyes filled with tears. "I just never expected this."

"I heard him say he was Raven's Claw. What's that?" asked Velvet joining her partner. Qrow sat next to Winter and rubbed her back as she broke down. He looked up at the two girls.

"My sister had started a peacekeeping group some time after she disappeared. Then when she went completely off the grid, the group fought over who would be in charge and what kind of organization they really wanted to be. The majority won out, with the group not having any one specific person as the head, but as a band of mercenaries for hire, not at all worried about the morality or consequences of what they might be hired to do. They kept their name however, and marred Raven's image further."

"Who did this though?" Coco asked. "I mean, who hired them?"

"It's unclear at the moment, but Winter and I…"

"Mr. Branwen." Ivory called. He looked past the women at Ivory and slowly stood.

"I'll be right back," he told Winter. She nodded through her sobs as he moved to the damaged wall and Ivory presented him with a letter. "I found this on one of the fallen officers that were taken out." Qrow took it from her slowly and looked it over before rejoining Winter, Coco, and Velvet and presenting it to Winter. She examined it the best she could through her tear distorted vision, flipping it over and gently touching the envelope. She shredded it open and fumbled with it for a moment before reading in, bringing on another wave of anguish and pain. She shoved it against Qrow's chest and sobbed even harder.

"He did it Qrow. My father hired these men. That is his signature, letterhead, seal of approval, everything! There's no mistaking it! It's even in his handwriting." Qrow took it from her slowly and read it over, sighing when he had finished. Where did they go from here?

"How did could this happen?" He asked. His mind flashed back for a moment to Summer fighting Salem and he shook it off. He turned to Jade and Ivory. "The three of you can leave now, thank you." Jade bowed her head slightly.

"I'm sorry we weren't capable of saving Ms. Rose." Jade and Ivory left slowly, before stopping at the last pew. "I should hope that the next time we meet, things will end more favorably." Qrow nodded and with that they took Rowan and exited the building.

* * *

Crazy stuff going on! Next week will be a shorter upload, but it'll be packed with information. (Repercussions of the events that occurred at the wedding and what not.) Join me again for Chapter 2 - Black and White!

Also, seeing how the fan-fiction website doesn't care for links, you can find the art work for all of the OCs in this story featured over on deviantart on my favorites page. (My user name is Silent-Celica, and if you select my favorite's page, I have a separate folder for Nightshade artwork) Thanks for stopping in and I hope that you return next week. :D


	6. Chapter 2 - Black and White

**6 Months Later**

 _When the rose is faded,_  
 _Memory may still dwell on_  
 _Her beauty shadowed,_  
 _And the sweet smell gone._

 _That vanishing loveliness,_  
 _That burdening breath,_  
 _No bond of life hath then,_  
 _Nor grief of death._

 _'Tis the immortal thought_  
 _Whose passion still_  
 _Makes the changing_  
 _The unchangeable._

 _Oh, thus thy beauty,_  
 _Loveliest on earth to me,_  
 _Dark with no sorrow, shines_  
 _And burns, with thee._

 **When The Rose Is Faded - Walter de la Mare**

"I'm not very good at this. I guess I never really was, but Ruby always told me that I should just imagine that I was making a long distance phone call to a loved one that I haven't heard from in a while, but they couldn't respond. I just had to hope that they heard me. Maybe I should have asked you if you heard us all those times when I finally met you," Weiss said to Summer's grave as she knelt in front of it. She wore her white button up jacket, the same one she had worn when the team investigated what Roman and the White Fang were planning during their second semester at Beacon. She hardly remembered it now, the four of them had been forced to grow up so fast. Snow began to fall again around her and she lightly brushed it off of the grave.

"Hello Summer. It's been a while. I only hope that you will someday be able to forgive me for failing you. I know Ruby would tell me that you would, but I somehow have a hard time believing it. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that I'm having a hard time forgiving myself, but sometimes I think Blake and Yang are right. There's not much that I could have done. There isn't much _any_ of us could have done. I miss her." Weiss cleared her throat and stood, taking a few steps to the right, where Ruby's grave had been placed. It was identical to her mother's, with an inscription reading 'Ruby Rose / Thy Beauty Shines With Thee'.

"Ruby… Where do I begin? I haven't been out here since the funeral and I'm sorry. I've been so busy trying to process everything, it's all been a bit much. I still find it hard to believe you're gone. You aren't there for me to have to make you get up in the morning. You aren't there at night either to eat cookies in the bed and have me yell at you for the crumbs." Weiss let out a sudden laugh which was quickly replaced with a gasp, the emotion stopping hard in her chest.

"I still want to strive and be the person that you always were. Selfless and willing to help others. I think I've found an outlet for that. Jade Datura, she's this snake looking woman that saved me at the wedding, convinced me to join their Faunus peacekeeping group. It'd be the first step to repairing Faunus and human relations. With the Raven's Claw wreaking havoc and causing enough fear to make some of the Grimm return I feel like it's the least I can do. I want to give them a name. Rose Petals! In honor of you of course!" Weiss felt the tears building up and she pulled her jacket close to her body. "I still miss you. I wish that you were here…"

"Weiss! There you are!" Exclaimed Yang as she came running for Weiss from the woods. Weiss watched Yang approach her and stop a few feet from her, before coming closer and kneeling at her sister's grave. "Ruby. Out of everyone that could have been burdened with saving the world, it had to be you, didn't it?" Yang stood back up and shivered slightly, rubbing her shoulders and standing beside Weiss, staring at the grave with her.

"What brought you out here Yang?" Yang tried to smile, but she knew that Weiss was well aware of her true intention. She let out a pained sigh.

"Blake and I drove by your place to check on you but you weren't home and you weren't answering your scroll. I figured you were here, seeing as today is Summer's Birthday and I knew you and Ruby would come out here every year." Weiss felt her body tense up. She knew Yang didn't agree with what she was planning, but if Yang was there, it meant that Blake was close behind.

"Thanks for the concern Yang, but I'm fine. My scroll just doesn't get a signal out here." Weiss continued to face the grave as Blake approached them. Weiss wiped her eyes with her sleeve as she stared at Ruby's grave. "Blake… I know why you came out here. I know why you're both here."

"Weiss, it's the same thing happening all over again! When the White Fang was formed, all we wanted was to have the same rights as humans, and things got out of hand. I just don't want that to happen with Rose Petals," Blake pleaded. "I'm not saying that it will, I just think you need to take a little longer to think this whole thing over." She placed a hand on Weiss's back and Weiss wrenched away.

"It's not the same at all! Blake, this isn't the White Fang! I would never let it become the White Fang!" Weiss shouted at her. Her words echoed into the cold, empty night that was slowly approaching. The air was still and silent as the snow continued to slowly drift to the earth. They all stood in silence for a moment as Weiss continued to refuse to look at Blake.

"That's the same thing the White Fang said Weiss. I'm trying to protect you because we care about you and you're acting on whims and feelings. You need to think it over before you do anything," Blake tried to explain.

"Hmph," Weiss offered a sound of amusement as a thoughtful grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You think I haven't thought about it? You think that after Ruby died, I just curled up into a ball and had some sort of whimsical revelation that I should join the White Fang? Is that what you think Blake?"

"That's not what I said Weiss-" Blake was cut off as Weiss finally turned to face her, pointing at Blake, her body quaking with rage.

"I have thought it over! I'm a Schnee! My family has always been resilient and we've been known for centuries for our innovation and ability to change Remnant with our actions! Ruby wanted to help people, and that's what I'm going to do with Rose Petals! I'd advise you help me, or stay out of my way." Weiss marched past Blake in an attempt to head back through the woods and back to the main road, but Blake reached out, grabbing her arm. Weiss swiftly removed Myrtenaster and threw Blake back with three glyphs in a row. Blake landed on her feet and slid to a stop. Weiss's and Blake's chests heaved as Blake reached back and removed Gambol Shroud from her back. The momentarily silence felt like an eternity as they stared each other down.

"Weiss… Don't do this," Yang begged standing beside her. Weiss slowly pointed her sword at Yang and formed an ice glyph in front of it.

"I've made up my mind Yang. You can either fight me, or step aside." Yang looked at Blake whose eyes were pleading her to stand her ground and then back at Weiss, her eyes filled with desperation and determination. She slipped off Ember Celica and dropped them to the ground. Weiss stood there momentarily in disbelief before passing by Yang.

"No! Yang?!" Blake shouted. Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud and ran for Weiss, weaving back and forth. Weiss took immediate notice to her and fired several ice glyphs, freezing clones each time. Blake's blades both met Weiss's and they exchanged several quick slashes. "Yang, please!" Yang stood watching, determined not to interfere.

"How is this going to help Blake?" Yang asked. It caught Blake off guard and Weiss threw Blake close to the edge of the cliff. Blake slid off with the help of the snow and fired her gun, hooking the top of the cliff and swinging herself back up. She stood on the edge for a moment, transforming the weapon back into a blade.

"What?! Yang, you have to trust me! Weiss is making a terrible mistake!" Weiss blasted at her again, but this time Blake deflected with her blade.

"Hm. Impressive." Weiss said. Blake ran for Weiss as Weiss determined her next move. She formed a glyph beneath herself and several others around Blake, tearing through them at high speed before reaching Blake and batting her around several times before she was able to make three gravity clones, each blocking Weiss and allowing the real Blake to knock Myrtenaster away.

"Weiss… Please!" Blake was near tears as Weiss found her feet. "Don't go with them. This isn't how it should be!" Weiss retrieved her sword and sheathed it, walking to Blake and stopping in front of her.

"I need to do this. Not even for Ruby. I need to do this so that I can move on." Weiss walked back into the woods and disappeared as Blake lay in a heap, crying on the ground. All Blake could see and feel was every memory that she had of the White Fang, and all of the pain that it had brought her in the end.

"Why? Why wouldn't you help me stop her!?" Blake demanded an answer as Yang picked her gauntlets back up and walked to Blake. She lifted her fiance's chin and kissed her softly on the lips. Yang sat beside her on the ground and pulled Blake into her shoulder to cry.

"I know what it's like to lose someone and desperately need answers. She might not find them right away, but when she does, she'll come to her senses."

"I hope you're right Yang."

* * *

 _News Reports are coming in from around the city of the newly formed Rose Petals, headed by none other than Weiss Schnee, saving many lives, and acting as a counter terrorism force of sorts against the rising Raven's Claw. One can only wonder about such an overnight success group and how they will continue to progress in the future. More on this story at…_

 _It's easy, I think, to understand where a lot of people are coming from, in regards to the Rose Petals. Are they stopping Raven's Claw? Sure, but is it the best to have these criminals taking care of the other criminals? I know! I know I'll get a lot of heat for saying that, but less than 2 years ago we had a mass group of Faunus trying to kill us all, and this new one turns up and we're just supposed to go with it? Sure, they're not all bad people (The Faunus), but at this point, the general view of them in the public eye is that they aren't to be trusted. We'll take your calls in just a moment…_

 _In business this last week, things shifted quite a bit in Remnant, especially for Atlas. Weiss Schnee, in what most are considering the boldest move in the history of the Remnant Stock Exchange, sold all of her shares in the Schnee Dust Company (SDC) that she had bought when she retrieved her savings after leaving the company. Removing her shares caused a panic, almost crashing the market, and the company nearly became worthless before Ms. Schnee repurchased all of her original shares and more, becoming the primary shareholder. Doing so gave her greater, if not absolute, power over the company. The SDC was formerly ran by her father, who was indicted 3 months ago for counts of conspiracy to commit murder and murder…_

 _Raven… Come on sis, at the very least you could listen to you damn voicemail if you aren't going to pick the damn thing up. I've kept your secret for long enough and I forgave you long ago, I know why you had to do it. But Yang is never going to get the closure she needs until you come back and tell her why you left. Don't you think it's time? Heh, but I'm always working an angle, you know better than anyone. I need you to look into your old organization for me if you get the time. I guess you wouldn't know if you haven't seen the news or you're still busy traveling to different dimensions, but Raven's Claw is back and I need to know why they killed Ruby… Guess I hadn't told you that one yet either._

 _Time's running out Raven. Since Ruby died things have gotten out of hand with this war these girls have started. It's small now… But Schnee is rebuilding Mountain Glenn as a base of operations and Yang and her wife have holed up with some old friends nearby, a few miles away in the woods. Guess you missed your daughter's wedding too. If you ever cared about either of those girls, at least look into that information for me. I need to get going. With the Grimm returning I fear Ozpin's seal on Salem may break. I'll do my best to slow it down, but those girls need me here and I need the help on your end._

 _I'll talk to you soon… I hope. I never stopped loving you Raven. We're family, there's no stronger love than that. See ya later._

* * *

Again, I pseudo apologize for the short chapter, but it was necessary... and this is also the first story I've ever written in a fan fiction format. (I normally write novelettes). As you can see above, things have gotten quite Grimm. Come back next week to Schnee what happens in Chapter 3 - The Briefing! (I'm done, I swear)

Just a reminder... Seeing how the fan-fiction website doesn't care for links, you can find the art work for all of the OCs in this story featured over on deviantart on my favorites page. (My user name is Silent-Celica, and if you select my favorite's page, I have a separate folder for Nightshade artwork) Thanks for stopping in and I hope that you return next week. :D


	7. Chapter 3 - The Briefing

Winter stepped off of the airship and her boots landed on the ground, softly crunching the leaves beneath that had fallen from the forest's trees weeks ago. Dusk had settled in on the horizon and gave a bronze hue to the light that snuck through the barren tree branches and scattered away. The wind picked up severely for a moment, tossing about Winter's coat tails and the fallen leaves before dying back down again. Winter brushed a stray hair out of her face and waited for a moment as the airship landed and her pilot, along with two Atlesian soldiers, stepped off.

"So where is this place Neo," asked Winter as Neo stood beside her, silent as ever, standing on her tiptoes and peering out in the direction they'd be heading. Neo handed her a small earpiece and Winter put it on, adjusting it into a comfortable position. "Who am I talking with right now?"

"You and I don't know each other very well Ms. Schnee but I get the feeling that in the next couple of weeks, that's going to change. My name is Coco Adel, I'm Nightshade's military strategist. You might remember me as the girl with the purse gun from your sister's wedding. You also helped me with a small favor," the voice replied in her ear. Winter recalled her taking charge in the midst of the chaos.

"I do." Neo began walking into the woods and Winter followed suit, her soldiers escorting her. "You're the girl with the…" Neo teleported back to Winter quickly and yanked on her arm, shaking her head and putting a finger to her lips.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not talk about that. How much did Qrow fill you in on before you arrived?" Winter marked the tree on her right with her sword, so they'd know how to get back. A sudden flash of pain and anger washed over her at Qrow's name. She gritted her teeth together.

"Oh, you know Qrow. He was just as vague as ever when he told me you all needed help." She marked the next tree, still walking with Neo.

"You don't have to mark the trees like that." Winter stopped for a moment, looking around to figure out how Coco knew. "No need to worry about how I can see you. We've overridden and hacked some of Rose Petals assets. It gives me the ability to see the majority of the battlefield in most situations and plan on the fly."

"So what are we dealing with?" Winter asked. Neo waved at Sun as they came up on him along the path. He waved, hanging upside from one of the barren tree branches, and dropped onto his feet, throwing away his last banana peel.

"The walk to the warehouse is about half a mile, and it's that distance for two reasons. One, the tree coverage is dense enough and the airship flies low enough that we could land that close without them knowing we're nearby. Two, it's the closest clearing to the warehouse. I'll let Qrow explain the rest to you…"

"He's there with you?" Winter felt a knot in her chest and she stopped for a moment. The sudden pain from before returned.

"Hey Ice Queen…" The knot in her chest was replaced without warning with a sharp stabbing. It was really him. She trembled for a moment as traced the ring on her finger with her right index finger. The trembling subsided and everything she felt was replaced with anger.

"You heartless bastard! You didn't even tell me you were leaving for 2 years! I'm your fiancé dammit!"

"Quiet down sweetheart, you're gonna tip off the White Rabbits and if that happens, this whole mission will be a waste."

"Qrow…" The heat of her rage could be heard in her tone.

"I'll let you scream at me all you want when you get back. For now, let's focus on the mission." The two soldiers looked back at her. She gave them both a stern look, pointing for them to follow Neo. She took a deep breath, bottling up what wrath Qrow had coming to him for later and continued following again. "This warehouse has been the best kept secret that Rose Petals doesn't want us to know about. I have a contact who informs me that this might be their White Rabbit cloning facility. She also managed to plant some of Coco's bugs that use sonar to map the interior and exterior of the building. The fact that it's right along the Mountain Glenn's base makes it an interesting location, but we assume they're utilizing the old tunnels."

"What are these White Rabbits?" Winter asked. Someone on the other end cleared their throat.

"We can fill you in later," Sun explained to Winter. "It's a touchy subject." The dense forest gave way to a clearing with a large warehouse made of brick in the middle. Soldiers wearing Atlesian armor were posted on each corner. Winter chuckled.

"She really has become power mad, hasn't she?" Winter pondered. Winter was pulled behind the tree line by Neo, out of view of guards passing by that were keeping watch.

"Don't panic but Neo's going to teleport you and Sun into the building in a secluded location. You'll have to take out four or five men, but then you should be free to move about the main room freely," Coco explained. Winter nodded at Neo and seamlessly Winter was viewing a stack of crates instead of the countless trees outside. Neo held up two fingers and pointed to the end of the crates. Sun nodded and sent Via Sun down the way and they took out the two guards. Neo climbed quickly up the crates.

"Babe, fire an ice glyph on the far side of the room, about 30 feet behind you. Make sure it's a big one so that the guard can't yell for help. Sun, gun-chucks ready," Qrow instructed. Sun smiled, transforming his staff. "Now!" Winter fired as Neo landed on the other side of the crates, batting one of the men in the face with her parasol to her left. The man to her right was a hand-to-hand specialist, and swung for her, shattering her clone. She dropped in from behind him, planting a left kick to the back of his head. Sun leapt down, firing shots directly into the man's chest, silencing the guns. Winter ran across the room at her target, using a gravity glyph at the last moment and skewering the man to the wall.

"That went better than I thought it was going to," Coco said, a slight tremble in her voice. "Behind you to the left Winter… That's what we're looking for." Winter slowly turned to face the objective, a large steel door with ice built up around the edges. Winter grabbed the handle, snatching her hand back for a moment as it was cold to the touch. She managed to pull it open and it made a loud, undesirable creaking noise. Winter cringed slightly and peered into the freezer.

"Well,"asked Qrow. Winter stepped in with Neo and Sun and the three looked around, finding it to be empty.

"Qrow, I don't know what your contact told you, but there's nothing in here…" Winter stopped as she spotted Neo on the far side of the freezer, waving her hands and jumping. Winter walked to her and noted the trap door beneath Neo's feet. "Hold on a moment…"

"What is it?!" Demanded Coco. "What do you see?" Winter slowly opened the door and found a ladder that descended into a dark room. She climbed down and landed on the bottom with a soft thud.

"Neo. Sun. It's safe." She could hear them land behind her and did her best to use her scroll to find any sort of source of light. She eventually found a single bulb with a pull cord, close to what she assumed was the middle of the room, and turned it on. Near the ladder was a tall wooden table, vials and notes scattered across it, and several vials filled with blood were being stored upright on a plastic stand. Winter sheathed her sword.

A groan came from the far side of the room and Winter slowly made her way towards the noise. It was a woman, relatively short, and had liquids being injected into her body via IV.

"Winter?" Asked Coco. Winter moved close, her eyes wide as she looked the woman over once more.

"Qrow, I need you here now!" Winter pointed to Neo. "Keep watch upstairs! Send any other backup that you can afford!" Neo teleported back up to the main floor.

"What is it?!" Coco demanded, almost shouting at Winter.

"It's Ruby… She's alive, but they're keeping her under using some sort of drug… We can iron out the details later, I need backup to get her out of here!"

"Ruby?" asked Coco. Background noise came over the communications link. "I need a topographical map of the surrounding area right now! Whatever we've got!"

"Are you sure?" Asked Qrow. Winter brushed the hair out of Ruby's face and grabbed her head, tilting it towards herself and using her scroll for a moment to better examine the girl. She put the scroll away and waved Sun over.

"Qrow, why would I make this up?! It's Ruby, no doubt about it!" Winter replied, trying not to give away the slight panic she suddenly felt. The only thing that her mind could think at that moment was how was Ruby alive? They had all seen her at the wedding, there was no life left in her body, her aura was broken, and she **had** died.

"Qrow's on his way!" Replied Coco. "Someone send Neptune!"

"How's he supposed to get there?" Came a voice from the background.

"I don't care! Hell, tell him to take Bumblebee! Just get him there! And someone get me Blake!" Winter could hear commotion on the other end, but it faded out as her focus turned to Ruby. She gently shook her, hoping for a reply.

"Hey… Ruby…" Ruby looked as though she was aware of her surroundings for a fleeting moment, weakly raising her hand and touching Winter's cheek, trying to focus on the face before her.

"Weiss…?" Ruby moaned before her head rolled to the other side and her hand fell limp. Hope rushed through Winter's body.

"She's responsive." Winter noted. "Sun, you were posted out there for a while. Got anything that might come in handy?"

"I have a water bottle," Sun replied.

"Good." She told him.

"Winter, is there any sign of Velv? She's part bunny…" Coco asked. Winter double checked the room quickly, looking at Sun who shrugged.

"I'm sorry Coco." Silence.

"Dammit." Winter gave her a moment, surveying the room again.

"How do you want me to proceed? I need to get her out of here." Winter declared, almost blurting it out. She didn't care if they knew her panic now, she was sure they were just as confused now too. Radio silence filled her ear before Coco's voice could be heard again.

"I'm not entirely sure, no one here is that knowledgeable with medical information. Maybe Neo is, but I can't say for sure. Qrow will get there before Neptune does, but it's gonna be a couple of minutes," Coco offered.

"Try and get Ruby to drink some of that." Winter nodded to Sun and climbed quickly up the ladder. "Neo! If you can figure it out, disconnect Ruby and prepare for evacuation." Neo nodded and was gone again. Winter closed the freezer far enough so that no one would see them in there. Her chest heaved, confusion washed over her. Weiss couldn't have known about this, it didn't make any sense. No, she knew without a doubt that Weiss was unaware, which still begged the questions why and who.

"General Schnee. Shall we stay here?" Asked her guards over the comms unit, who were still in the woods above.

"Do your best to blend in for now. We shouldn't be too much longer." She replied.

"Winter, come here for a moment." Sun called her from the ladder behind her. She quickly shuffled back down into the room to find Neo thoroughly inspecting the equipment.

"Any luck Neo?" Winter asked her. Neo scratched her head and looked everything over for a moment before grabbing a vial of liquid from a cabinet near Ruby. Time seemed to crawl as Winter awaited word of Qrow's arrival. If they were caught now, they might not have another chance to win the war. Neo injected the liquid into the IV. "Now what?"

"How long Neo?" Asked Sun. She held up two fingers. "Minutes?" She nodded.

"Sun, get her to drink some more of that. I'm heading back up," Winter instructed him. "And grab some of the files while you're down there!" She headed back up the ladder and she stepped out of the freezer as Qrow flew in through an open window. He transformed back to human and stood across the room from Winter.

"Ice Queen…" Her hands balled into fists and she trembled for a moment. "Winter… I…" It was then that Qrow glimpsed a White Rabbit from the corner of his eye, watching them from the window. It stood there, as if it wasn't living but a statue, and it looked identical to Velvet. The only difference that anyone would make out was its deathly white skin. It stared and Winter found it slightly unnerving. "Don't look at it." Winter struggled to remain motionless, wondering what Qrow planned to do.

"So that's a…"

"Yeah." In one swift movement Qrow's weapon became a gun and he fired, but the rabbit was already gone. "I don't know if you saw that Coco, but I need an evacuation plan right now."

"I didn't catch what it was," she replied.

"I'll give you three guesses," Qrow said. Coco cleared her throat again and something slammed onto a wooden surface back at the base.

"Okay, Blake says we get her out of there at any cost. Ruby might just be the thing we need to end this war. Ok… Is Ruby in critical condition?" Asked Coco. "You! Bring me that map now! Were you waiting for me to ask again?!"

"She's stable enough that she's not in need of immediate medical attention," Winter explained.

"Can Neo bring her back on Bumblebee?" Asked Coco.

"No, I need Neo to pilot my ship back to your base," Winter replied. There was a loud crashing noise on the other side of the crates they had used for cover when they first came in.

"Nobody move and come with us!" Yelled one of the men storming into the building.

"10 to 12 incoming. That White Rabbit is sure to bring back more. A lot more." Coco explained. "Winter, I'm gonna use your men."

"Feel free. What do you have in mind?" She asked, unsheathing her sword. Qrow's weapon became a scythe.

"I'll let them know as soon as Neo teleports Ruby back to the airship."

"Sun, is Neo ready down there?" Asked Winter.

"She's pulling Ruby down off the wall now, if that's what you're asking," he replied. "You want me to come up?"

"Yeah. Neo, you teleport Ruby to the ship. Wait 5 minutes. If we aren't ready by then, you leave with Ruby," Winter instructed. She rushed with Qrow to the crates and knocked them over, slowing the soldiers by blocking their path. "What's the plan for getting out of here?"

"Fight like hell and get to your ship. We try not to over complicate things," Qrow told her. She rolled her eyes as she prepared to attack.

"You're one to talk…" The soldiers began pouring in over the crates that had been knocked over and Qrow sliced through them with ease. "Seeing as Neo left with Ruby and the way out is blocked, how are we getting out?" Qrow smirked and his weapon transformed into its sword form. He reached back and swung it above his head, slicing through the end of the nearest crate. Qrow grabbed a vial from the crate and poured the Dust into an empty cartridge and slammed it into his weapon.

"Fire Glyph?" He asked. She picked up on what he was thinking and formed it against the wall where she had earlier impaled her opponent. Sun leapt past the two of them into the soldiers and batted a few of them away with his staff. "Sun, what are you doing?"

"Neptune and I have a competition going on. He's a couple points ahead of me, but I'll catch up to him before he gets here!" Sun exclaimed.

"Kid, we're leaving." Qrow fired at the glyph and the wall exploded. "If you're gonna fight, fight that way." Sun nodded and flipped over the crates, landing on his feet and pulling Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang into their gun-chuck form.

"Got it!" Sun ran for the opening and stopped short as several Atlesian Knight-200s rounded the corner, their masks lighting up yellow. "I can take a couple of dumb robots!" Qrow grabbed Sun by the tail and held him in place.

"Not so fast Sun. They've got these Knights equipped with Dust rounds. Not to mention our intel suggests that their combat systems have been updated. They put up more of a fight than they used to." Sun stopped and moved back next to Qrow. Winter formed a gravity glyph below herself and Qrow and slightly bent her legs. She launched herself forward through the mass, slicing through several of them and landed outside of the building, diving around the corner. She placed another glyph behind the Knights, allowing Qrow to tear through the group and perch perpendicular to the ground. He fired off several rounds before the soldiers realized what was happening. One of them turned and managed to get a gravity shot off, blasting Qrow through Winter's glyph and sending him bounding through the woods. Two of the soldiers chased after him and their armor coated itself in light blue Dust, transforming into an ice exoskeleton. "What the hell?"

"Well that's new," Winter stated, throwing them back towards the building using glyphs. She ran out to help Qrow.

"Neptune is there. He gave something to your guards and I'm sending them your way now. We smuggled some officer's uniforms from Rose Petals a while back and I figured this might be our best opportunity to use them," Coco explained. Qrow fired several shots at the Dust Knights, but the shots exploded off, not affecting the robots.

"Halt!" One of the Knights demanded. Before it reached Qrow and Winter, Winter's men arrived, wearing Atlesian armor with the Rose Petal emblem emblazoned across the torso, Ruby's scatter emblem transposed over Weiss's snowflake.

"Orders from Ms. Schnee. Move out at once. Retreat back into the tunnel to protect her," ordered one of Winter's men.

"This unit does not take commands from Ms. Schnee," the robot replied.

"Damn," Coco muttered. The robots turned on her men and she threw them out of the way with a glyph, charging back into the fray to take some of them out. Qrow surveyed things for a moment as he batted the ice ones away with his sword.

"Sun, got a moment?!" Qrow called into the warehouse. Sun grunted and blasted several men away from himself.

"Finishing up, what do you need?!" He called back.

"Fire Dust. A couple of vials." Qrow swung out to his right without looking, knocking down a tree to delay the Dust Knights that refused to quit.

"Coming up!" Sun fired at two of the robots, exchanging glances and blows as his tail tossed three vials to Qrow.

"I hope this works… Winter! An Ice Glyph!" Qrow commanded. His weapon transformed into a scythe again and sliced the fallen tree in half. He fired two quick gravity shots he had been carrying on him, clearing the tree away. The glyph appeared and he quickly worked to load the fire Dust. He fired through the opening, causing a wave of water to pour out at the Knights.

"I get it!" Sun exclaimed. He leapt onto a tall stack of crates, his tail snatching up a vial of lightning Dust from one of the broken crates. He wound up and threw the vial towards the mass of robotic soldiers and Winter opened a Gravity glyph at the last moment, slamming the Dust through and into the ground, frying the droids.

Neptune arrived just as the soldiers were deactivated, leaning against a tree and acting like he was catching his breath.

"Hey everybody…" He gasped. He waved a hand at them before doubling over, hands on his knees. "That was a lot of water. Too bad I got here late." Qrow shook his head, distracted only for a moment as two guards flew from the building as Sun exited with a backflip, fitting his guns back into a bow staff. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, hey Neptune! Picked up 13 points while you were gone!" Sun exclaimed. Neptune walked over to him.

"Those shouldn't count, I wasn't here!" Neptune debated. Sun swung his arms up above his head, proceeding to talk with his hands.

"Dude, come on! I'm only two points up on you now, and you totally counted the points when you went on that raid last week!" Sun rebutled.

"That was different! _I_ wasn't keeping watch for two hours!"

"I just took these jokers out a couple of minutes ago! I didn't collect points when I was keeping watch! I was just… You know… Keeping watch!"

"I'd love to stay here all day and let the two of you keep flirting, but we gotta get Ruby back to the bunker before the Rose Petals realizes what happened and decides to send reinforcements." Qrow stated grabbing Neptune and Sun by the shoulders and shoving them in the direction of the airship.

"Neo, give us just a moment. We'll be there and we can take off," Winter told her over her comms.

"Great work everybody. All of you in the field, I'll see you back here first thing for a full debriefing. It's not what we came for, but it's one hell of a pick me up," Coco told them.

"Thanks Coco," Winter replied. "Great job yourself."

"Thank you Winter." Came Blake's voice. There was a tremble, as though Blake was crying. And maybe she was.

But it wasn't a simple thank you. It was for helping retrieve Ruby. It was for giving them hope.

* * *

It looks like someone faked Ruby's death... but why? Come back next week as we meet the person responsible for the dreaded White Rabbits in Chapter 4 - Curiouser and Curiouser

Just a reminder... Seeing how the fan-fiction website doesn't care for links, you can find the art work for all of the OCs in this story featured over on deviantart on my favorites page. (My user name is Silent-Celica, and if you select my favorite's page, I have a separate folder for Nightshade artwork) Thanks for stopping in and I hope that you return next week. :D


	8. Chapter 4 - Curiouser and Curiouser

Two Rose Petal guards led the White Rabbit to the end of the seemingly endless corridor in a marching fashion as their boots thundered off of the checkered marble flooring. It had nothing special to note and the walls were barren and white. The rabbit twitched, looking up at the two men. They stared straight ahead, never once looking away to make sure she was still there, not even out of the corner of their eyes.

"Where are we going?" The rabbit asked. The escorts were unphased, her question floating into silence without acknowledgement. She had a good idea of where they were heading, but she knew hearing them say it out loud would put her a little more at ease. They reached their destination and there was a large mirror at the end of the passage. The rabbit glanced at the two guards in the mirror, their faces expressionless. The guard on her left knocked twice on the mirror before slowly pushing it open like a door. The room was large and perfectly square with a woman sitting behind a large, black, wooden desk. The walls were a deep dark red and the carpet was a perfect white. On the wall behind the woman was another mirror.

The woman stood, and the rabbit could see that she was wearing a light blue business dress that was covered with an open lab coat. She had light blue eyes that matched her dress and long blonde hair. A crooked yet simple smile worn on her face. She had never met the woman before, but she knew that this was her creator.

"Ms. Landis. This White Rabbit has brought to our attention the fact that she is in possession of intel that is for your ears only." One of the guards informed her. She looked the rabbit over and nodded at the men. They both left the room, closing the door behind them and leaving the two in silence.

"Sit. Please. Would you like any tea?" The woman asked the rabbit. The rabbit knelt where she stood.

"May I speak freely Mother?" The rabbit asked. Her Mother sat and lifted the teacup to her lips.

"You may, but please, call me Alice."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to continue calling you Mother." Alice's smile grew warm for a moment.

"You may. And continue, please."

"Nightshade has rescued our asset in Sector 1." The woman stopped mid sip and picked the sentence over in her head.

"Hm." She finished her sip and placed the cup back on its saucer. "Curiouser and curiouser." The rabbit looked up from the floor but Alice was gone.

"I'm sorry Mother, what did you say?" The rabbit asked, twitching slightly. Alice reappeared directly in front of her kneeling, lifting the rabbit's chin with a finger. Behind her back she held firmly to a short rod, similar to one that might be used by a teacher to direct attention or discipline a student.

"I want you to know that you were the best yet," Alice told the White Rabbit, her voice hardly audible. She stood and swung the rod, and as she did it transformed into a battle axe, the handle black like the blade. The blade's edge was perforated with three small hearts. It sliced through the rabbit's neck, and Alice stood there for a moment, as though she was posing for an audience. The body fell to the floor and she transformed the axe back into a rod, noting the blood on her coat and carpet. "Such a shame."

"Ms. Landis?" came a voice through the door. She sat back down behind her desk, opening her email to prepare a memo to be sent out.

"Come in gentlemen." They opened the door and stood silently, trying to ignore the body. She clicked open her email and began to type, before she thought better of it. If she sent the memo out instead of telling her in person, there was a minuscule chance that the email could be traced back. She deleted the words and closed out of the browser.

"What did she tell you?" One of them asked. She could hear a slight shaking in his voice. They were trying to keep things on a need to know basis and the truth was, the majority of the low ranking members of Rose Petals, didn't need to be in the know. She took another sip of her tea.

"Weiss had an emergency asset placed nearby that we were to activate as a last resort. Tell the rabbits that Protocol Iris is no longer necessary for reporting to me. I'll meet with Weiss tomorrow and discuss today's events. In the meantime, get her body and head out of here. Take her down to the harvesting room." The guards looked down at the body at this time and then back at Alice as she stood, grabbing a small brown satchel and placing the strap over her shoulder.

"Even though she's dead?" One asked as he bent down to examine the rabbit. Alice looked down at the rabbit thoughtfully.

"Especially since she's dead. I need to know how I can make her better." She placed the rod into her sack and closed it, stepping over the body to a set of hooks beside the door, removing her bloody lab coat and draping it over the rabbit. She thought about the rabbit on the floor for a moment. "They're still twitching." She made a mental note and pulled on a new lab coat. "This place had better be spotless by the time I return."

"Yes Ms. Landis, of course." She nodded at them as she left, her heels clicking against the marble as she made her way to the far end of the corridor, where the elevator was waiting open for her. She entered the elevator and proceeded to move up one floor to a subterranean floor just below the basement. She stepped off into a room that resembled a reception area. Double doors stood beside the only desk in the room and the receptionist looked up from her computer, leaping to her feet.

"Ms. Landis! Go on in! I am so sorry if I kept you waiting." the girl replied blushing. Alice strutted through the room and slammed through the doors, revealing a large open room with 8 queue lines with a single table at the end of each, all separated by being roped off. Each line contained at least 15 White Rabbits and more thundered in from a large staircase on the far end of the room. To Alice's right and left the walls had long windows that ran the length of the room, revealing White Rabbits heading out into the field. The rabbits would sit at the table and if anything of concern was identified they would tell the Rose Petals member working that table, using keywords to keep things abrupt and keep the line moving. Some rabbits would then exit through the first door on the left or right, sending them back out to the field. Others would choose the second door and head to the barracks to refresh themselves.

"Proctor!" Alice called from the doors. A man wearing an officer's uniform who was placed in the middle of the room acknowledged her, and marched towards her.

"The name's-"

"I don't care and I don't have time for formalities. Tell me, aside from the rabbit that was already sent to me, did any other rabbits come in at 8 PM with news from Sector 1?" She asked impatiently. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"This is about the last of the group from that shift. There were about 12 rabbits stationed in that area but only the one had anything noteworthy. Not much over there anyways but that Dust warehouse. You looking for a specific rabbit?" He asked her. She smirked for a moment but it immediately disappeared from her face as she turned around and headed back for the elevator.

"Thank you Proctor, that will be all." She rushed back through the previous room and onto the elevator, pressing the button for the second floor, waiting as the elevator slowly carried her upward into the actual building. The doors slid open and she stepped out into the hallway at a three way intersection. If she went to her left the hall would continue on and would become a large dining area for the Rose Petals soldiers and other staff members. If she headed right, there were numerous smaller conference rooms. Straight ahead were the training areas of the second floor and that was where Alice was heading. She checked her scroll. Nearly 10 PM, which meant they would just now be finishing up.

Alice continued down the hall, men glancing into the hallway during their weightlifting, gawking in disbelief. Alice hardly ever came out of her office aside from attending meetings and everyone knew that there were no meetings left to be had that evening. She yanked violently on the doors to the simulation room, which was more or less a gymnasium that deployed occasional weapon fire and robots to attack the trainees. The doors resisted her attempt, indicating that the room was locked and in use. She pressed the comm button beside the doors and waited for the buzzing noise.

"Jade, this is Alice. I need to have a word with you immediately." Alice waited for a moment, not in the mood to be left waiting. "I swear to Salem…" The doors swung open and there stood Jade out of breath, wearing green athletic pants that matched her hair and a purple sports bra that was almost more of a push up. Alice sighed.

"Alice, this better be good because you know how pissed off I get when someone interrupts formation practice," Jade told her leaning against the door frame.

"Would I have left my office if it wasn't of the utmost importance?" Alice asked. Jade looked back into the room.

"You two keep training! I'll see you both at the meeting tomorrow morning!" Jade closed the door and stepped into the hall with Alice.

"Wouldn't you like to change first?" asked Alice as she turned for the elevator. The men in the training rooms had more or less stopped what they were doing, most of them peering at the two standing in the hallway. Jade smirked.

"Jealous that I'm attracting all of the attention?" asked Jade. She chuckled. Alice scoffed.

"Well the men don't refer to me as the sluttiest member of the cabinet so at least I can find one reason to appreciate your existence…" Jade slammed Alice to the wall who grunted on contact.

"If not for my Fallen Angels, we wouldn't be this close to completing our plan… Don't forget that." Jade's voice was hushed and biting. A wicked smile crawled across Alice's face and Jade dropped her.

"Perhaps you shouldn't forget my contributions as well," Alice suggested. She brushed herself off and made her way towards the elevator, Jade followed her after a moment.

"So what's got you in such a foul mood today?" Jade asked.

"Well, I had to come retrieve you." They stepped onto the elevator and Alice selected the main basement floor. There was a moment of silence between them and Alice spoke again before the doors opened. "They have Ruby." Jade's jaw unhinged slightly and she turned to face Alice who was already looking at her. Alice held her arm out towards the door, ushering Jade out.

"When did this happen?" Jade asked. Her mind slowly wrapped around what it had been told and tried to calculate what their next move would be.

"At some point between the 12 PM watch and the 8 PM watch. The rabbit didn't go into too much detail before it succumbed, a shame really. I'm sure you know what I plan for us to do." They left the elevator, the main basement floor was a large hangar with a few airships and Rose Petals soldiers marching about. The two of them weaved through ranks of soldiers and Atlesian Knights, heading for the other end of the room, which was easily the distance of 3 football fields.

"Did anyone manage to get anything that would help us get the edge on Nightshade if things went bad? We had been trying to extract the power from her eyes for years on end! Seems it was all just a waste of time." Jade noted to her colleague.

"I don't know that that's an accurate statement. You needed Schnee to think she was dead if any of this was going to come about in the first place. I don't think they would use Ruby to their advantage immediately anyways. She's in no shape to fight and at this point I don't think Weiss would believe that it's actually Ruby. If anything, Weiss would become more violent towards Nightshade." Alice explained her line of thinking. The rest of their walk was in silence until they reached the end of the room and were greeted by a few tunnels that led out of the mountain to various locations. The tunnel was poorly bored, as though who ever had hollowed it out never had any intention of digging in a straight line. This caused the path to be disheveled at times, which was a mild inconvenience paired with the fact that it was lit just enough by floodlights that non-Faunus would struggle to see, but would still be able to reach the end.

Alice and Jade came out of the tunnel behind the warehouse where they'd kept Ruby, the area was overly lit up with spotlights. One of the men stationed there noticed them and tapped his partner on the shoulder who turned around and muttered something before spotting them. The two jogged over and stood at attention.

"Landis! Datura! What brings the two of you out here, and especially so late at night?" Jade looked at Alice and Alice nodded.

"We need this warehouse destroyed. It's been compromised and to be honest, it's no longer needed," Jade explained to the men.

"No can do ma'am! This unit is under the command of…" Jade looked at the guard on the left that had replied.

"I'm well aware of who commands you." Jade sauntered over, inches from the man's face. "You wouldn't want to upset me, would you?" He shook his head vigorously. Jade ran two of her fingers down the side of his face before moving to his neck with amazing speed, biting down and injecting her venom, the green glow of it flowed into his veins and through his body. She moved to the next man who was shaking slightly, but was still at attention, his eyes focusing on her teeth.

"Ma'am…"

"Soldier, my eyes are up here." Jade lifted his head and kissed him deeply, causing him to lose his breath. She ended the kiss slowly tugging on his lower lip as she backed off, biting down before finally letting go. "You boys don't honestly think that I have to bite your neck, do you? I can inject you just about anywhere." She whispered softly as the venom started spreading through him. Wiping her mouth with her wrist, she moved back beside Alice. "Now, you two are going to tell the rest of your squad that your commander gave you instructions to destroy this place. It'll be easiest if you rig an explosive to a crate of gravity Dust. That should create a small black hole of sorts and there will be nothing left. Now go!" The men saluted and left.

"What about the glow?" Asked Alice as she and Jade proceeded to walk towards the front of the building.

"The venom only has that effect when it's first injected and when it wears off. They won't remember that I injected them afterwards." All of the bodies that had littered the building before had been cleaned up but as Alice and Jade approached the gaping hole that had been blown in the side of the building, they spotted a cleaning crew frantically scrubbing blood and realigning crates.

"Stop cleaning!" Shouted an annoyed soldier who squeezed past the women into the building. "We have orders to destroy the place!" A loud groan could be heard from the workers.

"What about the Dust?!" One of them asked.

"It's the smallest warehouse we have and we're constantly churning out more. The boss says there's no time to salvage the Dust!" The annoyed soldier nodded at the women and left the building again. They stepped in.

"So he's back…" Jade stated as she bent down picking up a black feather from the floor. "This paired with the state that tree is in. It's either him or Raven, but Weiss has said more than once that no one but Yang has seen Raven in nearly a decade."

"He hasn't been a concern before. How do you know Qrow left even?" Asked Alice as they stepped into the freezer.

"One of the Fallen Angels let it slip while I was breaking them. Why he was gone they didn't say but if Qrow's as resourceful and intellectual as they say, he's got something that'll help them." They climbed down into the dark room and took a look around. Ruby was surely gone and papers were scattered across the floor. "Seeing is believing. Let's get out of here before they blow it with us inside." They climbed back out of the basement and exited the building. Jade stopped one of the men as he walked by. "If there is anything left after you use the gravity Dust, burn it down." He nodded and jogged off.

"Now what?" Asked Alice as they made their way back to the tunnel.

"Leave that to me. I'll have a contingency plan for everything that might come of this for the meeting tomorrow morning." Jade smirked and looked at Alice walking beside her. "I wouldn't worry about Qrow too much. If he begins to become a threat, I can take care of him." Alice began to walk away from her as Jade stopped at the tunnel's opening. "Oh, and you _could_ try losing the lab coat. Maybe then someone would take notice of you." Alice gritted her teeth, heat rising inside of her.

"I'll see you in the morning Jade."

* * *

Now we know who was behind kidnapping Ruby, the question now is why... I mean, I know why, but you people have no idea lol

This weeks upload is a day early due to a personal matter that I need to attend to, but I'll be back next week Sunday so that you can find out how Ruby is doing, along with some exposition because that's how stories work. (It's not the best humor, but it's my humor dammit). Next Sunday : Chapter 5 - The Rose and The Nightshade


	9. Chapter 5 - The Rose and The Nightshade

Winter slammed through the door of the small barren room, Qrow quick on her heels as he was sure to close the door behind them. The room contained a cot, one small dresser, and a mirror. The walls and floor were both concrete. He knew that there would be hell to pay, and that payment was about to come in the form of Winter's wrath.

"If it makes things any better, I thought of you every day…" He told her, but he knew that she was far beyond letting him get away with a simple apology. She turned around sharply, slapping him across the face. They stood in silence for a moment before she withdrew her hand.

"Qrow, how is that supposed to make things better? I was worried about you for two years! Every night I was at home, waiting for news from someone here, telling me that you had died in combat! I cried myself to sleep every night, I…" He cut her off with a passionate kiss which she caved to slightly, before pushing him back off of her. "You can't just fix everything with a kiss Qrow!" He shrugged.

"Maybe you're right, but I'm just as damned if I didn't try." He removed his flask and took a swig. "I'll tell you everything as soon as I can." She snatched it from him and drank the rest, slamming it against his chest and forcing him to take it back. He took it from her, eyes wide, as he looked down at the flask and looked at Winter, giving both a double take.

"Tell me now!" She demanded. He shook his head slowly as he put the flask back in his jacket.

"It's not that easy hun." Winter stomped across the room and sat on the bed, crossing one leg over the other and folding her arms across her chest.

"What's not easy about it? Just tell me!" He was slowly becoming aggravated.

"Winter." She glared daggers at him. He sighed. "I did it to protect you." She shook her head repeatedly in disbelief and leapt up off of the cot, marching back over to him.

"You didn't trust me, is that it?! You know I can handle myself and you had damn well better be able to trust me if we are going to be married at some point…"

"Shut up." He said sullenly. She stopped short of finishing her sentence. Qrow's expression had softened and she knew that he was upset as he stared past her at the floor.

"Is it because you're worried about me?" He looked at her, his eyes red.

"You wanna know why I didn't tell you? I know you wouldn't be able to resist helping me if you knew where I was. I think Salem has a plan to get back to our world somehow, despite Ozpin sealing her back in her dimension. Ozpin's plan to stop her has been in motion for a long time, since before STRQ was even formed. His plans were very detailed and elaborate and we thought that we had her cornered that day…" He turned away and placed his hands on top of the dresser, the tears slipping from his eyes as he remembered.

"The cliff?" He looked back at her, the tears flowing freely now, and he nodded. He looked back at the mirror and his own image disgusted him.

"I was so weak. I was almost helpless. I lost Summer _and_ Raven that day." Qrow slammed his fists on the dresser before punching the mirror, shattering it. His chest heaved and he was exasperated. "Summer was the strongest huntress Remnant has ever seen, and to think that she was done in so easily." Winter had walked over to Qrow at this point and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Forgive me Winter. I just can't let Salem take your life as well."

"Qrow. I'm sorry." He swept around and wrapped his arms around Winter, embracing her long and hard.

"I'm close Ice Queen. I'm close." Qrow's scroll began to ring. Winter looked up at him and he smirked. "Let it go to voicemail." He kissed her as the voicemail picked up.

"Qrow. It's Coco. Not sure what you are doing at the moment but Ruby's vitals seem to be evening out and I think she might be coming to at any moment. Reese is there to greet her when she wakes up, but you might want to head over there in case this is all a bit overwhelming for her." Winter released their kiss and looked up at him, wiping the tears from his face.

"Go," Winter mouthed. Qrow let go of her and headed out into the hall, leaving her there to process everything.

The last thing that Ruby's mind was completely sure of was the fact that she had left the wedding to return to her apartment and grab the earrings. When she arrived at her apartment however, she was greeted by blunt force to the back of her head. In between then and now had simply been a series of blurs in a dark room with men in masks. They would ask each other questions as they poked and prodded her. Whether or not it was the drugs they'd given her that was making her ability to recall specifics difficult or her mind defending her from immense pain, she didn't know. She slowly opened her eyes and could hear a slow beeping nearby, which she figured to be medical equipment.

"Wha… What's going on?" She asked as she slowly tried to sit up. She blinked fiercely, the light burning her eyes at first, making it difficult to make out anything. Someone moved close to her.

"Ruby? Is it really you?" asked a voice that sounded overjoyed. Ruby didn't recognize who it was off hand.

"Of course it's really me, who else would I be? Who is this?" She asked. Ruby's eyes began to adjust to the brightness and she could at least make out the slowly spinning ceiling fan above the room's center. The beeping became less noticeable as Ruby's body regulated itself.

"It's me! Reese!" Reese exclaimed. Ruby was excited to hear Reese and know that the person close by was someone familiar, but another wave of confusion swept over her. Where was Weiss or any of her other family members? If something awful really had happened, wouldn't they be the first in line to see her when she woke up? Ruby's eyes adjusted further and she could see Reese now, sitting in a plastic folding chair beside the bed. Ruby tried to smile, but it faded as her head began to pound. "Are you okay? Do you need water or something?"

"I'm fine I think, it's just a headache. Reese, where is Weiss?" The ecstatic smile was wiped from Reese's face and a look of fear and panic replaced it. "Reese?" Reese stood up and walked away from Ruby, pacing in a circle and mumbling to herself. "Reese?"

"Hey Red," Came a voice over the intercom as Ruby swung her feet to the side of the bed and placed them flat on the floor, weighing up her options for possibly standing. She peered around the room, looking for any sign of a door or way to exit the room, but was unable to find one. "It's me, Coco. I need you to hang tight for just a moment while your body figures out how to do things again. To be honest, we didn't think that you'd be sitting yet even. I know that you are confused and that you want to see and talk to Weiss, but if you give us just a couple of minutes, we will help you get situated." Ruby's attention turned to Reese again and she grew concerned. Why had Weiss's name put Reese into such a frenzy? Ruby slowly stood.

"Woah." Ruby wobbled slightly and sat back down as Neo teleported into the room. "Neo, you're here too?" Neo smiled at Ruby and gave a bow before attempting to grab Reese. Reese flinched and stared hard at Neo, her mind processing something. She shook her head and grabbed Neo's arm.

"I'm sorry," Reese told Neo gasping for air. Neo shrugged and teleported her out.

"Is that why there's no door? Only Neo can get in?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty perceptive for someone waking up from near comatose," Came Qrow's voice over the intercom.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby felt excited for a moment.

"Hey kiddo. I'm coming in." Neo teleported in with Qrow and left again. "How are you doing so far?"

"Ok I guess. What happened anyways?" She asked him. He took the chair and sat on it backwards, propping himself up on the back of it.

"You were killed at your wedding by a collapsing building," Qrow explained. Ruby moved closer to him, scooting up to the edge of her bed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her in an embrace for a long moment. She could hear him sniffing and it brought tears to her own eyes. He was crying? They all thought she was dead, didn't they? He let go of her.

"I never made it back to the wedding after picking up Weiss's gift." Ruby looked at him, her eyes pleading. "Please tell me Uncle Qrow… Where is Weiss? Why did Reese look so terrified when I mentioned her." Qrow took a deep breath and sighed, rubbing his chin.

"At the wedding there was a clone of you, or a doppleganger, or something. Even I'm not sure what they did to make this thing look exactly like you. Anyways, whatever it was, it died during a battle that interrupted the wedding. Weiss was distraught and joined a 'peacekeeping' group in your memory so that she could help people like you did. Something happened though."

"What happened?" Ruby asked. Qrow stretched in his chair.

"The group became more violent but somehow, someone was convincing Weiss that a little violence was needed to ensure the safety of the people. That much might be true, but the more Blake tried to talk sense into Weiss about her group becoming the Fang, the more Weiss became distant and cold towards us, until one day the war began. There was no official declaration, just Rose Petals secretly showing up at Blake and Yang's home and other's that still associated with Blake. They destroyed their houses, and tried to either capture them or recruit them. When it showed up on the news, they claimed it was staged by Blake to make Weiss look bad. Weiss rationalized that it was for the good of all because the Rose Petals were for the good of all. Blake refused joining or being captured and formed Nightshade.

Weiss more or less turned a blind eye to all of the fighting, much like her father ignored the questionable labor at the Dust company. The Schnee pride is far too great to go back on anything they ever say. And her name is so well known that anytime Blake tried to tell the media or anyone that Weiss was in the wrong, Weiss would discredit her, making us look like villains."

"So how do I fit into all of this?" asked Ruby. "How did this even happen to her? She would never let anyone hurt her friends."

"She's on some sort of crusade I'm guessing. Driven to the point of killing, if it meant that she would uphold your nature of helping people." Qrow explained.

"But she's not helping people." Ruby stated. Qrow stifled a laugh.

"But she feels like she is." Ruby thought things over for a moment.

"I want to let Weiss know to stop this." Qorw chuckled.

"We all do, but we need to arrange some sort of meeting. It's not as easy as just having you tell her to quit. If we just sent you over there or tried to air a broadcast, whoever is actually pulling the strings would kill you or do everything in their power to convince Weiss that we're just screwing with her mind. For now, until we form a plan, you have to lay low." Qrow stood up and helped her to her feet.

"But I …" Qrow placed a finger to her lips.

"I know, but the Weiss we're dealing with now is hardly the same Weiss. Just let Coco, Blake, and I figure out a strategy. Once we do that then you have my word that you'll be the first to know what we decide." Ruby looked slightly upset but she nodded in forced approval.

"Ok."

"Neo, we're ready to head out." Qrow spoke over his comm. Neo popped in and grabbed them both, teleporting them to the main compound. People stood in the hallway where they had appeared, stopping and staring, their mouths agape. They whispered to each other and rushed around the hallway, smiling and waving. Ruby smiled too and waved back to a few of them.

 _Is that…_

 _Ruby is alive! It's true!_

 _I can't believe this! This is amazing! Didn't she die at the wedding?_

"What's going on?" she asked. Qrow chuckled.

"We all thought you were dead, so most of us are in shock and awe. We missed you kid. Glad you're alive." Ruby spotted Coco who peered out into the hallway, nodding at her. Ruby smiled and waved to her, trying to walk, but she started to fall. Qrow caught her quickly and Coco ran to them, waving Neo over who was still lingering about. Neo came over and supported Ruby, letting her drape her arm over her shoulders. They began walking down the hallway, towards the first door on the left. They took Ruby inside, a small kitchen with a few tables and chairs, the room made entirely of concrete, the same as Neo's panic room and the hallway. They sat Ruby down for a moment.

"How long was I… dead?" asked Ruby as she adjusted in the chair.

"A little over 5 years," Coco replied as she sat down and pulled her chair closer, turning it to face Ruby. She looked Ruby over, in awe and disbelief. Ruby sat against the back of her chair, looking at Coco. Coco sat back again allowing Ruby to relax and she removed her scroll. "This is amazing. Did you get a hold of Taiyang?" Qrow had moved to the refrigerator, scrounging around for something with an alcoholic content. He shook his head.

"I left him a message, but he must still be out on the last mission I gave him. No word back from him which means we won't have Crescent Rose right away," Qrow explained. He unscrewed a bottle and gave it a swig, questioning the taste for a moment. He shrugged and poured it into his flask. "Ruby can use my sword for now and I'll just use Oz's cane." Ruby leapt to her feet.

"I get to use your sword?! That is soooooo awesome!" Ruby looked at Coco, swinging her arms as though she was physically holding the weapon. "It can be a really big sword, or it can transform into a scythe, which I'm great with I might add! Oh, oh! And, it's also a gun!" Coco cracked a smile for a moment and then looked at Qrow who was grinning. Coco's disappeared.

"Too late Coco. I saw it." Qrow walked over and rubbed his niece's head, mussing up her hair. "She has that effect on people." Qrow walked to the door and looked back at Ruby. "Think you can walk?"

"I can try." She replied. She stumbled on the first step or two, causing Neo to stay close by, but stabilized by the time she reached Qrow. They headed out the door and continued down the hall.

"If we head back the way we came from, there would be a staircase that leads out to the surface, which is a heavily wooded area. The door on the right here leads to you to the personal quarters of everyone with the exception of Blake and Coco. They both have their own personalized rooms. The next door on the left here is going to be the training area. We have some boring normal weapons in there that can be used for specialized training, for honing skills and all that. You can also use your personal weapon and fight others or some of the self repairing robots that Winter managed to get her hands on before Weiss cut all funding to the Atlesian army."

"Can I go practice with your sword now?!" He chuckled.

"Just like your mother. You could hardly walk a moment ago and now you wanna go attack things? How about we wait a little while, okay?" A few people that Ruby didn't recognize ran by, and Ruby watched as they headed up the stairs.

"Who were they?" She asked. They began walking again.

"Nightshade members. Not everyone here is former friends. Some of them are new members that have joined to help us fight Raven's Claw." Ruby stopped in the middle of the hall for a moment. He noticed her and stopped himself. "What's up?"

"Who are the Raven's Claw?" Qrow sighed.

"It's a long story, but let's just say that they are another faction that is caught in the middle of all of this, and is creating quite a bit of chaos. Half the time we deal with Rose Petals, and the other half we deal with Raven's Claw. It keeps us busy. And it leaves the people of Vale on edge. The Grimm are slowly returning and the moon is shattering again. Let's finish the tour though so we can get you settled in. This information overload can wait until later." He began walking again and showed her to the door on the right. "This is Coco's war room. It's more commonly referred to as the situation room, but I guess either name works."

"Woah…" Ruby was impressed, a large table sat against the wall farthest from the door, it had maps and intel scattered about on it and Coco's laptop, as well as a cup of hot coffee. On the wall above the table was a map of the Kingdom of Vale. Other monitors and screens covered the rest of the walls and there were three office chairs with wheels, for the other members that would help Coco as she worked. The door to the right of the table was open, revealing a small room filled with filing cabinets and server computers. "So we're still in Vale?"

"Yeah," said Coco as she entered the room behind them. "We're located in the forest here." She pointed on the map. "A few miles outside of Mountain Glenn. Glenn is Weiss's base of operations. It's a good spot seeing as it isn't all that easily accessible without being noticed, and it's close to the City of Vale which Weiss owns the majority of." Ruby walked closer to the desk and looked over the files as Coco opened the door to the left of the table. Ruby caught a glimpse of Coco's bed and Velvet's camera in a glass box, before the door was shut.

"Uncle Qrow, why does Coco have Velvet's camera in a display case? Where is Velvet?" Qrow wrapped his arm around Ruby and led her out of the room.

"Velvet's camera is not the only thing she has in there. She's got several cases and shadow boxes with uniforms and weapons, all mementos of members that the team has lost."

"Weiss has actually killed people?" Ruby asked. Qrow stopped for a moment.

"Well, you see…" They stepped out into the hallway and were greeted by Blake, who was wearing a black lattice cut tank top that revealed her midriff, a long white trench coat, and black jeans. Her black leather boots came up to her knees.

"The only person that she admits openly to having killed is Yang." Blake stated. The three of them stood there for a long moment in uncomfortable silence as Ruby digested the information. Blake stepped forward and embraced Ruby for a long moment, letting her go and checking her over. "Ruby, you can't know how much it means to us to know and see that you're still alive. It fills us all with a hope that had been missing for quite sometime."

"Weiss killed Yang?" Qrow headed down the hallway back towards the other end and Blake led Ruby to the last room on the right. The room was well furnished, with a black couch and coffee table, and a desk with a small lamp. Three screens were spread across the four walls, with the last wall being covered in pictures of Blake and Yang. Ruby walked to them and smiled as she stopped on each wedding picture, digesting the information. "You got married!" Blake sat on the couch and crossed her legs, propping them up on the coffee table.

"We did. And then Weiss cut short our happily ever after." Blake looked over her shoulder up at Ruby. "You have to know that I tried to stop her. Yang tried to make me understand that she was just grieving." Blake looked away. "Maybe I pushed too hard. Maybe I should have listened."

"Weiss would never kill Yang," Ruby stated, a confidence in her voice as she sat down beside Blake on the couch. Blake rubbed her face and shook her head, leaning back.

"I don't think that she would either, but whoever is really behind all of this might. That's what scares me more." There was a knock on the door frame and they both looked up to see Coco.

"Or perhaps she's a Fallen Angel." Coco offered as she came in and sat beside Ruby. Blake put her feet down and moved over to make room.

"It's a nice thought in a strange sort of way, but I think they would have used her by now," Blake replied.

"A what?" Asked Ruby. Her mind raced. There was no way that she was going to be able to remember everything that they told her.

"Somehow Rose Petals is capturing our people and then pitting them against us. They aren't all there though. It's almost as if they're zombies or being mind controlled or something. That's why Reese has been acting the way she has. The way she freaked out on you is pretty normal for her now." Coco answered.

"We sent her out on a standard warehouse reconnaissance mission with Neo, Brawnz, and Neptune roughly 5 months ago. She came back petrified, her entire team had been sent as angels to attack them. She tried to talk them down and make them remember, but it was no use. When we went out to pick our team up, she was barely breathing and had cuts and bruises covering her body. We were lucky that we were able to revive her. The sick bastard who turns them into these… Things, must be dead inside. She hadn't spoken a word until you woke up today," Blake explained.

"Is that what happened to Velvet?" Without warning Coco leapt to her feet.

"Ruby, we can have this conversation later," Blake offered. Coco's face was red and Ruby noted the change in her teammate.

"No Blake, it's fine. Why don't we have it now?!" Coco yelled. "What happened to Velvet? Huh Blake?!" Blake stood.

"Coco, she volunteered to go. No one could have known what was going to happen," Blake told her.

"I didn't want her to go! I told you to make her stay!" Coco shouted as she headed for the door.

"I wasn't going to **make** her stay. If she wanted to help, I was going to let her help. Our options were slim and I needed anyone who was willing to go with." Blake chased after her and the two stood in the hallway.

"Even though you knew the risk. You put her life on the line, you know that!? After I explicitly told you not to let her go! Maybe you could have chalked it up as military expertise, but you disregarded my recommendation!"

"You're not in charge here Coco!" Coco laughed in anger and moved close to Blake, inches from her face.

"No, I forgot. You have the ultimate say around here. Sounds like someone we're fighting!"

"We are on the same team, and all of my decisions are joint decisions. I have never gone against the will of the majority of this group!" Blake gave her a slight shove but Coco stood her ground. Ruby watched them from the room, unsure of how to help diffuse the situation.

"Of course not. You can do no wrong Blake!"

"I never said that! Velvet's abduction was a mistake, what do you want me to say?!" Blake asked, also yelling. Ruby slowly stepped to the doorway and noted Qrow running down the hall towards them. He grabbed Coco and pulled her back out of Blake's face.

"Both of you knock it the hell off!" He stood between the two of them. He pointed at Coco. "You messed up." He turned to Blake. "You messed up. Everyone has messed up or will mess up. It doesn't matter! There's nothing that either of you can do about it now, and in the middle of this freaking war, this is the last thing that we need." Coco's face was still red and she clenched her fists, crying out in disapproval before moving back into her room, and slamming the door. Blake stood dazed, embarrassment and shame washing over her.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said as she stepped into the hallway. She looked at Qrow and Blake. "I didn't know that it was that touchy of a subject." Tears welled up in Blake's eyes and she wiped them away with her sleeve, refusing to show weakness in front of her people, most of which had gathered in the hall during the commotion. She moved back into her room and gently shut the door, her eyes filled with misery as they met Ruby's. Ruby looked back at Qrow again. "I didn't know…"

"I know you didn't." He headed back towards his room where Winter was waiting for him and Ruby followed after him. "I should have told you when you asked me about the camera. Velvet was taken by some woman who had her bound and gagged and that was the last image that any of us saw of her. Then a few weeks later, these white clones began to appear and Coco was traumatized. She hasn't left the bunker since." Ruby was overwhelmed.

"This is all so crazy!" Ruby exclaimed. Her mind was spinning in circles and she tried to focus on anything to give her momentary stability. It was then that she noticed she was wearing a plain, dirty, grayish t-shirt and sweats. "What am I gonna wear?" Qrow chuckled.

"Until someone can get you some clothes from Patch, I'm sure that we can find you something temporarily. You're options are probably the scrubs we found you in, or something of Blake's, since she's only slightly taller than you." Ruby thought it over.

"I think I'll stick with the scrubs," she told him. He opened one of the doors and turned the light on, letting her in.

"Bed, dresser, mirror." He pointed each one out, but it was hardly necessary. "If you need me, I'm directly across the hall. Bathroom and showers at the far end of this hallway, not the main hall. Laundry room is also down there. The scrubs should be clean by now I would think." He stepped out into the hallway. "Tip?" She laughed.

"Nope." She closed the door in his face. He stepped across the hall and rejoined Winter, sitting on the bed with her.

"What's next?" Asked Winter.

"I'll fill you in by the end of tomorrow. I'm meeting with my informant later today or tomorrow night and at that point I should have everything I can pieced together." Qrow laid back on the bed and she joined him. He wrapped his arm around her. "Now that we have Ruby I think they'll move quickly."

"How quickly?" Asked Winter. He shrugged.

"Hard to say."

* * *

Well, it looks like there's a little bit of bad blood between Blake and Coco. Sorry for the info dump that has been the last few chapters, it'll all payoff soon (so to speak). If you're still with me, thanks for sticking with it and I hope you're still enjoying the story. (As I mentioned before, this is my first time dipping my toes in the water). Will things change? Can they stop Weiss? Who is behind the Raven Claw attacks? Find out next week on Dragonball Z! Or here rather in : Chapter 6 - Snow White and The Six Rose Petals

I know I post it nearly every week, but I feel like I need to give a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix. They can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	10. Ch 6 - Snow White and the 6 Rose Petals

Dorian Bradbury checked his hair in the mirror one last time before getting ready to head upstairs and retrieve Weiss for the day. His eyes were purple, which complemented the teal color of his hair, which was spiked just so, and he wore a tuxedo with a gold vest and matching tie. He wore the suit open and reached in, pulling out a pocket watch with a chain. He looked at the time, snapping it close and placing it back into his pocket. He gave the jacket one last tug to make sure it looked its best and headed out of the bathroom into the hallway.

It was an extravagant hallway with white marble flooring and a light blue carpet that ran the length of the room. Extreme detail had gone into the archways and trim and heirlooms filled the passage. Dorian's favorite was the suit of armor that stood across from his room just down the hall. He checked his watch again as he walked briskly down the hall. He was running late. It was only a minute, and he could most likely make it up, but late nonetheless.

Dorian rounded the corner as he reached the top of the stairs to see Ivory and Rowan already posted outside of her room. They wouldn't harass him today, he would shove past them and into the room, or so he tried to convince himself. Ivory spotted him first, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. She was cute, taller than him by at least half a foot, hair permed and flowing. She wore a black button up blouse and a light blue jacket, that almost matched her eyes, and was left open. Both were short enough to reveal only her bellybutton if she stood up straight. Her outfit was complete with white business pants, tailored for extra movement, and stilettos. Dorian was convinced that she could probably kick a hole through a man's chest.

Rowan wore ripped jeans, and a black t-shirt. Over the top of the shirt he wore a brown leather vest, which clearly used to have sleeves, but it was obvious that they'd been cut off. Or, at least Dorian assumed, Rowan had ripped them off with his bare hands. He wore crystallized fire Dust as a necklace, which is what allowed him to set his wings ablaze, for show, and his chain, for combat. Both of them had their tops modified so that their wings were free for use. She cleared her throat and Rowan glanced over. He moved himself in front of Weiss's door.

"Do the two of you have nothing better to do?" Asked Dorian as he stood in front of both of them.

"No," Rowan replied, his expression blank.

"We're here to protect Weiss, so we really _don't_ have anything better to do," Ivory told him.

"I think you're both taking the question a touch too literally," Dorian groaned. Rowan shrugged. "And I'm not a threat, so let me in."

"How do I know you aren't a threat?" Asked Ivory, that mischievous smirk on her face again.

"When have I ever seemed like a threat?" Dorian asked. He glanced at his watch.

"Come on Dorian, it won't kill you to wait a few minutes, will it?" She asked. Dorian thrust the watch back into his pocket and walked away hurriedly.

"I guess not, be back in a few," he called back to her. As he rounded the corner he removed the watch again and pressed the button on the top, turning the dial. He spun back around and marched towards the two, they appeared frozen, with glyphs below them that resembled large clock faces. This was Dorian's semblance, minor yet precise alterations of time. His watch amplified his power, like Myrtenaster amplified Weiss's. He opened the door, stepping into the room, and closed it securely behind him, releasing the glyphs.

"Unless you want Myrtenaster being driven through your eye socket to be the last thing you see, I advise you stay turned toward the wall on your right," Weiss instructed him. It was at that moment Dorian realized that it was Saturday, and Weiss normally slept in 30 minutes, placing him at her room much earlier than he anticipated.

"If you're naked Weiss, I have no problem with returning in 30 minutes," he told her. He trembled slightly at the idea that she might be standing behind him, entirely disrobed, but the fear that she wouldn't hesitate to kill him if even the thought of turning around crossed his mind, kept him frozen in place.

"I'm wearing my nightgown, but I'd still prefer that you don't see me in it." He could hear her moving behind him. "Would you please hand me the sapphire necklace from the table beside you?" He still felt terrified of seeing her and felt around the table without glancing up from the floor. She scoffed or chuckled, he couldn't be sure which entirely. "You're fine to look now."

"On the table you said?" He asked her again.

"Yes." He found it lying inside of an open jewelry box and turned around to see her hand extending from the top of a shoji room divider. It had four panels and had roses and rose petals painted across it. He handed it to her and she snatched it away. He could make out her silhouette through the panels, but he knew better than to say anything. "Thank you Dorian."

"No problem." He turned back towards the wall he had faced before and stared into the glass case that held Ruby's cape. This cape was a daily reminder of the promise she made to herself to protect Remnant by any means necessary. It was a daily reminder that drove her forward and kept her going, reminding her of how Ruby would never allow herself to be deterred. This cape was the end of Ruby, and the beginning of Rose Petals.

"It's hard to imagine that she died 5 years and 1 month ago," Weiss said now standing beside Dorian. He glanced at her. She wore her long blue dress with the sleeved collar. Paired with her heels, Dorian wasn't sure that Weiss could look more amazing. "And somehow, her death still hurts just as much as it did the moment it happened." A single tear slipped down Weiss's face and she turned, looking at Dorian. "How do I look?"

"Amazing as always Weiss." He meant it. She made for the door and opened it, stepping out into the hall.

"Alettas. It would seem that Dorian has pulled a fast one on the two of you," she exclaimed as she walked down the hall. She stopped at the end, just before rounding the corner, and watched as they peered into the room in disbelief.

"Dorian!" Shouted Rowan. Ivory grabbed him and tossed him into the hallway.

"Hmph!" Weiss exclaimed, trying to avoid letting the twins know she was laughing on the inside. "It's a relief it was only Dorian." Dorian's face skewed, he knew that she didn't think of him in any sort of way that was remotely romantic, but hearing her word it like that still hurt. He jogged to catch up to Weiss and the Alettas followed suit.

"I thought you were on the phone Ms. Schnee," Ivory exclaimed trying to explain what had happened. Weiss chuckled.

"It's fine but Ivory, please call me Weiss," Weiss asked of her. They headed down the stairs and out the front door, where there was a black SUV waiting for them. Dorian nodded to the driver and they climbed into the vehicle.

"With all due respect ma'am, I'm still far more comfortable calling you Ms. Schnee," Ivory explained. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Suit yourself," she sighed. As the car made the five minute drive, the group sat in silence until they arrived. They left the vehicle and headed up the long walkway which had Rose Petals soldiers standing in a line at salute on both sides. "Dorian, what does my schedule look like for the day?" Dorian removed his watch and studied it for a moment. They were early, due to his mistaking the day for being Friday, but it was a far greater feeling than running late.

"We have a cabinet meeting this morning. We were going to eat at that pasta place you liked downtown for lunch before we come back here to get in some training. This evening you have some paperwork, other various forms and red tape level material that's in need of filling out, and then you asked me if we could stop by Ruby's grave. We'll do that at the end of the day." Weiss nodded as they entered the building and the receptionist buzzed them in past her waiting room. They were surrounded by offices. Weiss led the way with Dorian to her right, and they moved into the last conference room on the right before the elevator. It was a large room with a projector, a long table, and a coffee machine. They entered the room and took their seats, Weiss at the end nearest to the door, with Dorian and Rowan to her right, and Ivory to her left, in front of the door.

"Dorian, you have Weiss here early?" Asked a voice that caused him to cringe. Jade. The two of them had never gotten along since the day Weiss had hired him to work as her personal assistant, but lately it seemed to be worse. "I must say, for the first time since meeting you, I am impressed."

"Good morning Jade," he replied through gritted teeth. She walked into the room, wearing a dress similar to Cinder's, with the exception of being the same purple snakeskin as everything else she owned, and it covered her shoulders, which it made up for by having a plunging v-neck.

"Good morning everyone," Jade exclaimed with a sort of fake sincerity as she sat down beside Ivory. She placed her scroll face down on the table. "Ivory, Rowan, how did training go last night?"

"It was alright," Rowan replied. Ivory chuckled.

"It was our best training session yet," Ivory told Jade. Jade sat back in her chair and smiled.

"Glad to hear it," Jade replied. Alice entered the room without saying a word, and sat beside Jade. Jade turned to her and noted the lab coat. "Alice, what did I tell you?" Alice laid her papers out in front of her and made quick work of making sure they were organized to her liking.

"I'll dress however I please Jade," Alice exclaimed. There was a bite to her words.

"Jade. Alice. Please?" Weiss implored. Jade folded her arms and Alice glanced up from her papers, nodding at Weiss. "Would someone please tell me where _he_ is?" Jade picked her scroll up off of the table and looked it over for a brief moment before setting it back down.

"He says that we can start without him," Jade told the group. Weiss groaned in frustration and her face had become red.

"Jade, if he doesn't start showing up for our weekly meetings, we may be filling his vacancy," Weiss threatened.

"But…"

"No excuses like he was overseeing drills with the officers! We know they don't do that this early in the morning, and everyone knows about the two of you." Jade was flustered and at a loss for words for a moment before an out of place smile tugged at her lips.

"Yes ma'am," Jade replied, in a voice that suggested she admired Weiss's sudden show of authority. Weiss shook her head and reached her hand out towards Dorian.

"Key points?" He fumbled for a moment with the file that Alice had handed him and gave it to Weiss, letting her thumb through it as they spoke.

"I'll cover mine and the general's," Jade said as she stood. She looked at the small group. "The next wave of Fallen Angels can be ready as early as tomorrow night if Weiss so desires. Also, it seems as though the men found an injured Beowolf nearby. That in itself isn't so exciting, but it seems as though the Beowolf had come into contact with an Atlesian Paladin. One of those big mech suit things. Some of the soldiers dragged it back and they're looking into getting it operational again."

"Thank you Jade. Dorian?" Dorian stood up and brushed himself off, looking at his peers. He could feel Jade staring daggers through him, a smile with intent to kill plastered on her face.

"Weiss has brought it to my attention last night and I concurred that the cabinet is in need of one more member," Dorian told them. Alice looked up from her work.

"Why?" Alice asked. Jade looked over to Alice and returned her gaze to Dorian, nodding in agreement.

"It wouldn't hurt to have someone with fresh ideas about taking Blake down," Weiss explained without looking up from her notes. "I'm really looking for someone good at stealth, because we don't really have a stealth specialist."

"What about my rabbits?" asked Alice. Weiss could hear concern in the way she asked and she looked up at her from her files.

"They do their job well, but all that they do is collect information and then run back here." Jade cut in on the conversation.

"Any applicants yet?" She asked.

"No, why? You know someone?" Weiss asked. Ivory chuckled.

"No. I was only curious."

"Alice. That leaves you." Weiss told her. Alice stood up and looked at Jade, who gave a slight nod.

"Ms. Schnee, it was brought to our attention last night by one of my White Rabbits that the Dust warehouse in sector one has been completely destroyed," Alice reported. Weiss's hand slowly balled into a fist and she slammed it against the table with great force.

"Dammit Blake." Weiss looked at her cabinet and shook in rage. Dorian had never sat back down and looked down at her beside him. "Why can't she see that we're helping people!?" Weiss stood and took a deep breath trying to compose herself. She pointed at Alice. "I will follow up with you later." Her glare turned to Jade. "He _will_ be here next time."

"Of course," Jade replied grinning.

"Dorian, we're heading out," Weiss informed him. She left the room with Dorian close on her heels. The others sat in silence for a moment until a figure filled the door.

"What did I miss?" he asked. Jade leapt to her feet and hit him in the chest, leaving him completely unphased.

"Let's see Joseph… Hm… I don't know… Weiss threatened to replace you in the cabinet, or inner circle, or whatever the hell you wanna call this thing!" Jade shouted at him. She sat back down and smoothed out her dress, the anger on her face turned to frustration and she rubbed her forehead. "No matter, now we can attend to our business." Joseph closed the door and sat across from Jade next to Rowan.

"If you don't mind actually, I have business attend to. Real complex science that you wouldn't understand. They need me in the harvesting room so that I can run DNA proteins through my analyzer so that they can dispose of a body." Alice stood, gathering her papers and Jade stood, blocking her. She grabbed Alice by the lab coat and got in her face, inches away.

"It can't wait five minutes," asked Jade. Alice saw through Jade's facade and knew that the woman was trying to seduce her, which would ultimately result in Alice being forced to stay through use of Venom. Alice had no time to waste however. Jade placed her index finger on Alice's bottom lip and tugged lightly down slightly. "Hmm?" Alice's mouth skewed into a sickening grin.

"Perhaps it can." Alice quickly grabbed Jade's collar with her free hand and pulled her in, kissing her hard. There was audible gasp from Rowan, and Alice shoved Jade back into her seat. "But I'd rather it didn't." Alice moved past Jade and out the door. "Email me if you need me!" She called back into the room. Jade sat in a moment of shock as she brought her fingers to her lips, brushing them slightly. They all sat in a shocked momentary silence until Ivory turned around and closed the door again.

"Does that normally happen," asked Joseph. Jade savored the taste for a moment before she chuckled.

"Never." She sat up straight. "That's usually my trick." _Maybe she can be taught yet._

"What's our progress?" Asked Rowan trying to set them back on track. Jade cleared her throat.

"The Dust is ready, but it needs to moved here slowly to avoid raising suspicions," Jade stated as she stood and moved to the head of the table. "That many kinds of Dust combined is gonna be dangerous too. Joseph, I need some of your best men on that." He nodded.

"What about us?" Rowan asked.

"Keep doing your job. Protect Ms. Schnee no matter what." Ivory looked up at her and nodded. Ivory looked across the table at Rowan who rolled his eyes. He was clearly bored, but he would do his job all the same.

"So how long until we're ready?" Asked Joseph.

"The fact that we failed to learn anything from Ruby's eyes is a massive set back, but despite this I could be ready by the end of next week if needed."

"You expect to receive further instructions tonight?" Asked Joseph. Jade nodded. "How many men do you need to defend that thing?"

"Why?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"I sent most of them out to look for Nightshade's base."

"Joseph, why the hell don't you ever listen to a single thing that I say!? How many times do I have to tell you to keep them here unless you absolutely need to send them. We haven't found that base after searching for it for about 4 years or so, I'm thinking leaving them alone for one more week or so won't kill us," Jade explained to him sounding annoyed. "For that, you're the one who gets to email Alice."

"Are we done here?" Asked Rowan getting impatient. Jade nodded and headed for the door.

"Twins with me." The twins left and slipped past her as she stopped at the door and turned back into the room. "I'll see you tonight." He nodded and she left, rejoining the twins. The three of them met with Weiss and Dorian in the main lobby.

"Ms. Schnee, it's a tad early to leave for lunch. Perhaps we can train with you for a short while this morning," Ivory inquired.

"I think that's a fine idea, but it would seem that I left Myrtenaster back at the manor," Weiss replied. Weiss and the twins left the building and Jade grabbed Dorian, pulling him aside. She ran a hand through his hair.

"Dorian, I don't think it's wise that you try and pursue a relationship with Ms. Schnee," she told him.

"Don't be ridiculous, this is a strictly professional…" She shoved him against the wall, chuckling as he quivered, fear coursing through him.

"Who do you think you're fooling Mr. Bradbury?"

"Do I seem like I'm trying to fool someone," he asked. He winced, his eyes shut tight, as though he feared Jade hitting him. "If anyone should worry about their relationship…" She pushed him harder against the wall. He could feel her hot breath on his face.

"I'm just advising you Mr. Bradbury. It must have come to your attention by now that some of the other members of the cabinet don't care for you all that much. Is it because they're jealous? Perhaps. Is it because they want your job? Maybe." She moved close to his ear and whispered. "Is it because we know how weak you are?" He shoved her back as firmly as he could but she didn't budge. She chuckled lightly.

"Alright Jade." She dropped him and brushed him off, trying to offer a warm smile, but he knew better.

"I just wouldn't want anyone to be able to find a reason to get rid of you. I've grown fond of you."

"In a Joseph sort of way?" She laughed lightly and gestured towards the door.

"Aren't you quite the dreamer." She shoved him in the direction of the exit. "Go on then. Tend to Ms. Schnee but heed my warning." He nodded at her and then left, checking his watch as he stepped out the door and it shut behind him. As Jade turned to head back into the building's main hall, she was approached by a White Rabbit with a vial of blood.

"Mother said that you needed this," the rabbit declared handing it to her. It refused to make eye contact and its ear twitched once.

"Good to see she read her email from last night," Jade said. She shoved the vial into her bra and headed for the elevators. It was time to make contact again.

* * *

Seems that Dorian has a thing for the Ice Queen. And what was with that vial of blood that Jade had? Come back next week and see how things progress in : Chapter 7 - Family Reunion.

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	11. Chapter 7 - Family Reunion

Qrow transformed into his human form as he landed in the alley behind the building and brushed himself off. He leaned for a moment on Ozpin's cane as he peered around, making sure that he was alone. It was odd that his contact would want to meet in the middle of the afternoon like this, but with increased Raven's Claw activity happening during the night recently, he was under the impression that she might be worried that they would be found out about. He lifted the cane and looked it over. Sadly, it no longer possessed the power of three of the maidens, of which it had been drained during the battle against Cinder. It did however, still possess the majority of Ozpin's power and it was more than enough to dispatch some of the worst that Qrow had been paired against. He had learned it well while watching and protecting Team RNJR.

Qrow had always made himself seem more masterful than he actually was, he was better than the rest of his graduating class of huntsmen at calculating and timing attacks. When Salem attacked Summer however, it was then he realized he'd need more than his brains, and he had trained ever since. With Ozpin's cane, he felt like he could go a few rounds with Salem, and he wished that he could. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to the abandoned bank, closing it quietly behind him.

"I swear, they don't tell me anything…" A man called out before being silenced. The sound of a blade slicing through the man ended his protest and Qrow heard him hit the floor with two distinct thuds.

"I would hate to have to kill all of you to get some answers, and I **will** get answers before I leave here. Who is behind all of this?" asked a woman, her voice thundering through the building. Qrow stopped for a moment, noting that this wasn't his informant. This voice sounded hell bent on answers. This voice struck fear into the men that were in question, and they knew with every word, every syllable, that this woman would get answers, or they would all die. This voice was the opposite of his informant. "Perhaps you, will tell me?" Qrow rounded the corner of the back hallway, giving him a direct view of the empty vault, unable to see the woman.

"Listen here lady-" The man began. One of the men tried to run and Qrow watched as he made it halfway to the vault's grand door, before a flash of Dust sliced him in two. He dissolved, leaving nothing of his body.

"How about instead of beating around the bush... " The sound of her blade sliced through the air and the man's head rolled towards the door closest to Qrow. "You just answer me." Qrow moved in a flash to the doorway, staying in the hall just enough so that no one would spot him. His hand trembled as he gripped the cane.

"Oz told me never to do this, but I have to be sure." Qrow slammed the cane against the floor and the gears tumbled and whirled violently inside. He heard her blade sheath, and a delayed mechanical clicking, before she unsheathed it again.

"Last chance boys." She told them.

"Never!" One of them spat out. He heard the slicing of air again and felt the building tremble as the wall cracked, she had used gravity Dust. He stepped slowly into the room, she was turned away from him, and she wouldn't be able to spot him in her peripheral due to her hair.

"Raven." The word hung in the air for a moment as they both stood motionless. She sheathed her katana and tore open a portal, preparing to leave. Qrow held her in place with Ozpin's power, a green force field tearing at her body as she tried to move.

"Qrow, let me go." Her voice was commanding and he held back his emotion. He couldn't let her go again, not this time.

"I wasn't sure that you'd get my letters," he replied. "That girl must have tricked you into coming here to meet me." Raven struggled harder.

"I wasn't tricked. I came here willingly. Please, let me go!" She demanded he listen but again he refused. She could hear him coming closer and she grew more frantic. "Please Qrow, don't come any closer!"

"Why not?! It's bad enough that I lost Summer during that battle on the cliff, you leaving didn't make anything easier!" Qrow shouted.

"Ozpin's mission was for me to leave."

"Raven, you are so full of it. Ozpin sent me to bring you back because we needed you!" She broke free of his grasp and closed the portal, body heaving.

"I am ashamed!" She finally turned around, mask concealing her face, but he knew she was on the verge of breaking down.

"You did what you had to, this is nobody's fault!"

"I killed Summer Rose! Or have you forgotten?!" Qrow's heart stopped for a moment and he lowered the cane.

"I'll never forget what happened," he choked the words out. "But I can forgive you. She was the strongest out of the four of us and none of us could have known that Salem could snatch people's bodies like that. She would have killed us all, her power paired with the silver eyes would have been unstoppable. So I get why you did it, I always did. I was angry before, but now, I just want my sister back." He turned around to leave. "You can go if you want." He made it three steps towards the side door when he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll never forget how you protected me when father got so drunk that he didn't recognize either of us and he nearly beat me to death. I'll never forget how you and I would run out to the tree house and we'd sit up there all day, dreaming of how awesome it would be to hunt Grimm like mom used to, just so we could escape father for a while. I'll never forget watching you act out those battles that you imagined happened during the Great War, and I could only think one thing. You were my hero. And I hurt you." She pulled off her mask as he turned around and she fell on him, her legs limp beneath her as she held tightly to him. She was crying.

"Just like Yang," he chuckled softly. "As much as Summer's death hurt, it was a blessing in disguise. If not for those two girls I might have drank myself to death." She stood up and wiped her eyes.

"How is Yang?" Raven asked. Qrow fell silent.

"She might be dead…" Raven looked at him a moment in disbelief, her head slightly tilted. She pulled on her mask and ripped open a portal.

"Was it the Schnee girl?" asked Raven.

"No, it wasn't Weiss. Give me a second to explain." She looked at him for a moment, waiting for an answer.

"Time's up!" Raven leapt into the portal and Qrow swung the cane up, holding the portal open with its power.

"Dammit! Just like Yang!" He ran into the portal and tackled her in the inter-dimension, tearing through its fabric, and throwing them through a new portal, back into the real world "Raven, wait a minute!"

"I never had a chance to apologize!" Raven yelled at him over the howling snow. Somehow they had ended up one of the northern most regions of Atlas. Qrow wanted to remind her that it was mostly her fault that they never reconciled, but thought better of it. She tore open a portal but he immediately closed it. "Qrow, don't make me do this!"

"I really think you might be bipolar, you know that?! One breath, sorry for hurting you. The next, move your ass or I'm kicking it!" Qrow lifted the cane and blasted her back a few feet. "Hear me out!"

"Stop talking Qrow. Whoever killed Yang _will_ pay!" She flew at him with remarkable speed, her katana meeting the cane as they exchanged glancing blows. She leapt back, and in a single motion, resheathed her sword and removed it, now flowing with lightning Dust. This time as he met her blow, a ball of lightning threw them back from each other. Qrow tried to land on his feet but stumbled and slid through the blizzard, falling in a drift. He cleared it off of him with a single blast. As he reached his feet, he was thrown back again, Raven had done the same thing with gravity Dust through her blade.

"Raven!" He called out. He stood and found her blade at his back. His body instinctively arched away from it. A flick of his wrist and a blast sent her reeling away. She found her balance and they attacked each other with their weapons again, neither landing a scratch. Qrow deflected three quick swipes from the massive sword and managed to knock her back away from him.

"Would you really stand in my way?" She asked. She swung her blade over her head, a wave of energy slammed into him, freezing half of his body in ice.

"If it means keeping you from killing Weiss, then yes!" She changed her katana back to the gravity blade and swung for Qrow. He took on his bird form at the last moment, causing the Dust wave to miss him and the extra force shattered the ice, freeing him. He flew past her and she quickly changed her blade to fire, swinging his direction several times, the waves of heat making it difficult for him to fly, forcing him to land and take his human form back. She landed a blow from her gravity Dust and Qrow was sent flying, landing after almost 30 feet and rolling to the edge of the cliff. They were on top of a mountain.

"We can't keep going on like this Qrow. Your aura has to be running pretty low at this point and I have no intention of killing you. You just have to let me go," she demanded. Qrow pulled himself up and used Ozpin's power to move instantly to Raven. He batted her around with the cane about 5 times before Raven's body was surrounded in dark flames and her hair slowly floated. "So this is how it has to be?"

"That's not good." He told himself. She sheathed the sword and swung for Qrow. He blocked it with a forcefield and it held for the first couple of hits. The 4th proved too much and her fist swung through, nailing Qrow in the chest. It took some of the air out of his lungs and two more quickly placed blows took the rest, causing him to double over in pain. She kneed him in the chest, making sure his aura was low, and grabbed him by his hair.

"Maybe I'll leave you on Vytal, out of the way. You can battle all the Grimm imaginable there!" She opened her portal and shoved him through, she followed steps behind. As Qrow tumbled out, he bound across the floor and crashed into a large, round stone table. He recoiled and quickly moved to the left, Raven's blade coming down and cracking through the table. "I'll return to retrieve you once I've finished the job."

"Sis." She tore open her portal and he knocked her katana away with a single concentrated blast from the cane. "Knock it off!" She spun back without warning, her fist slamming into his jaw and he was launched over the table, smashing through one of the stone chairs.

"To think that this is where the war we dreamed of fighting in ended. And where the war between each other begins," she said as she grabbed up her sword and sprinted for her portal. Before Qrow could reestablish any sense of direction, she was gone. He slowly stood, holding his side. He looked the cane over, shaking his head.

The floor crumbled apart and Qrow was standing back inside of Oz's tower at Beacon. "Oz?" The elevator doors opened just behind him and out stepped someone Qrow never thought he'd see again.

"Ozpin!" yelled a much younger Qrow who stormed into the room and up to Ozpin's desk. The wizard sipped his coffee, unphased. "Are you enjoying the view from up here? Does being up here make you feel safer?"

"Qrow…" Qrow reached across the desk and grabbed Ozpin by the lapel.

"You ever wonder if things might go over better if we all knew the entire plan? Instead you sit up here pulling the strings. What are we, puppets?" Ozpin removed Qrow's hands and brushed the top of his suit.

"You don't think that everything I do regarding Salem I do for a reason?" Ozpin asked as he moved to the window. Qrow moved beside him and stared out at the students scattering about below. "Qrow, I can't describe it. I don't think that I could describe it well enough that anyone would ever understand, but I care for all of you very deeply. As deeply as though I fathered all of you. I didn't tell Raven that I had decided to send Summer to fight Salem instead because I was afraid that Raven would interfere as she did." Qrow watched the students run about, it sank in slowly.

"Are you suggesting that Summer would have won, despite her body being taken over by Salem?" Ozpin adjusted his glasses and sat again behind his desk.

"We'll never know for sure, but Summer was the most remarkable huntress that has ever enrolled at Beacon. I think she might have stood a fighting chance, but by no means does that mean you should feel any animosity towards your sister. What's done is done, and there's nothing that can be done about it now. The best thing we can do now is keep moving forward." Older Qrow let out a soft chuckle. Qrow stood behind Ozpin, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I still want to help. What can I do?" Ozpin smiled as he removed the file from his desk drawer and placed it on top. Qrow grabbed it slowly.

"It's by no means easy. You'll report directly to me, and you'll only tell Tai and anyone else you meet what I want them to know, are we clear?" Qrow nodded as he flipped through the file.

"Oz, these are all pictures of Raven." Ozpin nodded knowingly and Qrow smiled. "Thanks Oz." The younger Qrow left the room, leaving Ozpin there with the real Qrow. Ozpin set his cane on the desk and looked directly at Qrow.

"Hello Qrow." Qrow looked around as though Ozpin was talking to someone else. "I can see you. This is simply the after effect of using the cane's power, this isn't actually real. Come here." Qrow slowly walked across the room to the desk, looking at the cane in his own hands and back to the one on the desk. "Before I left that in your care, I told you only to use it under the most extreme of circumstances."

"It was extreme." Ozpin stood and removed his glasses.

"Was it? You call making sure your sister knows that you still care, extreme? In a matter of speaking?" Qrow looked at the cane in his hands. He returned his gaze to Ozpin and nodded.

"I need to save her. I need her to know that I never stopped caring about her. I want her to see she can right her wrongs. That for once, she can be the hero." Ozpin chuckled.

"And you think that that's a good enough reason to destroy my power forever. For your sister? You're telling me that you're willing to give up the one thing that made you feel more powerful than ever for the sake of mending your sister? Just for a glimpse into the future?" Qrow hesitated and Ozpin laughed, setting his glasses on the floor. "I always knew you'd make the right choice Qrow. I only wish I could have seen this through to the end with you." Qrow smiled.

"Thanks Oz." Ozpin smashed his glasses with his cane and the room spun violently below Qrow before coming to a halt. The cane dissolved off of the hilt. Just for a glimpse into the future...

"... Just answer me." Qrow realized where he was and moved to the doorway again, staying hidden. He heard her blade sheath, and it all happened again as it had the first time. "Last chance boys."

"Never!" One of them spat out. He heard the slicing of air again and felt the building tremble as the wall cracked, she had used gravity Dust. He stepped slowly into the room, she was turned away from him, and she wouldn't be able to spot him behind her.

"Raven." Neither of them moved for a moment. She pulled open a portal to leave. "Wait Raven! I know what's been tearing you apart for so long. You think that I hate you. You think I resent you for killing Summer. It's not true, Ozpin revealed to me that if I hadn't told you, Summer might have lived. I'm the one to blame for her death and I need you. I need your help sis. Yang needs your help too." Raven remained still before slowly closing her portal. She turned to face Qrow.

"How is she? How has Yang been?" Raven asked. Qrow hesitated momentarily before smiling.

"She's just like you Raven. Headstrong and not willing to let anything or anyone stop her. She married this Faunus girl, Blake Belladonna. I think you'd really like her." Qrow told her laughing. Raven smiled.

"I lost track of her after she lost her arm. I've been so busy hunting Salem and doing what you asked." Qrow looked around the empty room.

"This was a Raven's Claw meeting?" He asked. She nodded her head and pulled off her mask.

"But no new information to be had here. In the last few weeks or so I've broken up about 8 of these. Every time it seems like the same clueless losers from the last one. 'Nobody is in charge. Nobody leads us.' It's not true of course. Even if none of them believe that they're in charge, there's always someone."

"Can you come back with me? To the base?" It came out almost as a plea. Raven frowned and shook her head.

"I'd love to, but I'm just not ready to face Yang yet, and I still need to get you some answers. Not to mention there's been an increase recently in breeches to Salem's realm. It's almost like someone is trying to contact her." Raven explained as she pulled her mask back on and open a portal.

"Or she's trying to contact someone?" He asked. Raven nodded.

"What's the plan Qrow? What did Ozpin tell you all those years ago that would help us takedown Salem?" The memory echoed in his head, the file filled with her picture. He grinned.

"He just told me to keep moving forward." She nodded and left, leaving him alone in the room. He pulled out his scroll and dialed Winter.

"How did it go?" she asked him.

"I ran into an old friend. I was right, Salem's trying to come back." Silence.

"What do we do now?"

"We get Ruby ready."

* * *

Look's like Qrow has Raven on his side, but will it be enough? Was getting his sister to help worth using Oz's power? Fun Fact: This story was finished before Volume 4, when we found out that Raven is entirely soulless... Just kidding... But seriously...

Upload comes a day early this week as I am currently on vacation. Thanks for stopping in this week and if you're so inclined, return next week for Chapter 8 - Venom and Lust.

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	12. Chapter 8 - Venom and Lust

Weiss stood there in silence with Dorian directly beside her and the Alettas behind her. She wrapped her arms around herself as she stared, long and hard, at Ruby's grave, on top of which she had left a bouquet of roses. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, hoping that it would keep her from becoming overwhelmed by emotion, but it did very little to alleviate her desire to sob openly. She wouldn't allow herself to with Dorian there, she hated when others felt pity for her. He gave her a glance, knowing what must be running through her mind.

"You loved her more than anyone could ever hope to be loved," Dorian spoke aloud. In a way, he was frustrated, knowing that in the depths of who he was, after knowing her for several years, he wanted nothing more than to make her his wife and for them to be happy together. That feeling was replaced with guilt as he saw her visibly shaken over Ruby being dead. It had happened so long ago, but for Weiss, it might as well had been that morning.

"Dorian" she spoke after a long moment. He turned to her.

"Yes Weiss?" She sniffed and cleared her throat, still trying to hold it all in.

"Imagine, that for your entire life, everyone you loved kept pushing you to be more, but you were content with who you were. My father always hated that I became a huntress, and wanted me to take over as the head of the company. My mother was never around, mostly because she couldn't stand being around father. Winter always pushed me to the breaking point, but when I was growing up, it felt like she was always displeased with me. I guess she's like father in that small way. Then Ruby came along.

She was annoying at first and I honestly couldn't stand her, but the more I got to know her, the more she grew on me. She didn't find me as arrogant as everyone else had. And if she had, she never showed it. She just wanted me to be happy no matter what I chose to do." The tears came now and Weiss could do nothing to hold them back. "That's why I loved her so much! She made me feel wanted for the first time in my life."

"Weiss…" Dorian reached out a hand to comfort her but she took a step back, shaking her head violently.

"No. I'll be fine." Dorian glanced back at the Alettas. Rowan was occupied with something in the woods, but Ivory seemed to be listening. She trembled slightly and Rowan looked over at her, his eyebrow raised. He mouthed something that Dorian couldn't hear and she shoved him as they both turned towards Weiss.

"Almost ready Ms. Schnee?" Ivory asked. Weiss smiled and nodded as she walked back towards the cliff. She knelt down and kissed the headstone.

"I love you Ruby." She stood up, brushing off her dress and walking past her small entourage. They followed her back to the car and drove away.

* * *

Jade stepped into the open meadow that approached Summer and Ruby's graves and stood for a moment as the setting sun warmed her, if only for a minute. This is where Salem and Summer had fought one of the most important and infamous battles of all time. It was the first time that Salem had tried to return to this world, and she had failed. With moments left before Summer Rose would destroy her, she used all of her power to take control of the woman's body, to draw the power from her eyes. As fate would have it she was struck down by Raven and resealed into her dimension. Salem knew what had gone wrong, and this time she had taken extra precautions to prevent it. Jade walked slowly to the graves, standing above Summer's. She dropped the vial from before onto the ground and broke it, as well as another that Joseph had given her the week before.

Jade had forced Joseph to go to the site of Ozpin's death and extract anything he could with the wizard's blood. As fate would have it, Salem's sword had been left behind, made entirely of Grimm bones, and coated in the man's blood. With Alice's help, though Jade hated admitting it, they were able to extract enough for the vial. She broke the second vial before slicing her own hand and squeezing out a drop of blood onto the ground.

"A drop from the Mother, A bit taken from Him. And one for the summon, call out to the Grimm. A body that housed, or in one that She died. Now call out to Salem, you will be Her bride." Instantly the headstone for Summer cracked and Jade was thrown back towards the meadow, rolling several times before coming to a stop. The cliff side began to crumble away, getting closer and closer to Jade. She ran away, and into the woods, the world transforming before her eyes.

"Do you remember, when I saved you?" asked a voice that swept around her and filled her with a momentary fear. Jade continued dodging through trees, before an Ursa batted her off of her path. She bounded off of the ground once, finding her footing again, and sliding to a stop. The world had stopped crumbling. Jade's chest heaved as she walked up to the edge of the chasm, peering into Salem's realm. The world was an eerie white and purple, with masses of Grimm that slowly marched away from where Jade was perched above, and into the distance. "Do you remember?" Jade turned around to find that she was face to face with Salem.

"Of course I remember." Salem smiled before vanishing, leaving Jade alone in the middle of an endless void.

"Good. Remembering will make you stronger."

* * *

Lightning flashed and Jade could see that she was inside of a small hut, and she remembered it well. Salem was making her relive that night, 10 years ago. Jade was 18 at the time, and far less experienced in everything. She stumbled out of the hut and into the middle of the camp as White Fang members scattered in all directions. A gun shot thundered through the air, bringing little to no attention as it was indistinguishable from the chaos and storm. She could hear screaming nearby, on the far end of the camp perhaps.

"What's happening Adam?" Jade asked as Adam stood on top of a large pile of firewood, firing his rifle into the air again.

"Hey!" He commanded, but again, it was fruitless. He looked at Jade and leapt down from his vantage point. "This is what I get for coming to visit! It's as I tried to warn father, but he wouldn't have any of it. The Atlesian Army is attacking at this very moment, and he doesn't understand why I was hell bent on a more radical approach. Your sect has no chance at surviving this, and here I am without my lieutenant, or Joseph." He grabbed her by the shoulders. "I need you to grab Blake and make sure that she gets out of here safe."

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"My father is dead. I'm going to get help." Adam took off into the woods and was gone. The news sank in slowly as Jade stood there in disbelief. The humans were attacking and they had killed Benjamin. She still remembered him taking her in and telling her it would be okay when her parents gave her up for 'being a freak." Tears streamed down her face as she thought about his kindness and that he filled her with hope that one day they would live in peace with the humans. A 15 year old Blake stumbled out of her tent. Jade spotted her and ran to her.

"Have you seen Adam?" she asked in a panic, her knuckles white from gripping Gambol Shroud too hard as her hands shook. "Something is going on, isn't it?" Lightning cracked across the sky again and the thunder shook the trees. "Where's Adam!?"

"Slow down, Adam went to get help, we're under attack!"

"By who?" Blake asked. Jade swallowed hard, not wanting to hear herself say it after everything that Ben had tried to teach her.

"Humans. The Army of Atlas." At that moment, soldiers poured in past the tree line and fired at the two girls. Blake grabbed Jade quickly and hid behind a nearby shed, leaving behind a clone that was blown away. Jade shook with fear, immobilized. "What do we do?!" Blake peeked out around the corner.

"I'll run for it and draw their attention off of you," Blake told her. Jade grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Adam said that I needed to help you get out of here," Jade explained. Blake wrenched away.

"Fine, then help me!" Blake demanded. "Look out!" Blake swept back around the corner and grabbed Jade, dragging her into the shed and closing the door behind. The lantern inside swung lightly, causing their shadows to sway as they stood. Jade was terrified and Blake was out of breath.

"I don't have a weapon," Jade exclaimed. Blake looked around quickly before she spotted two hunting knives and handed them to her.

"This will have to do. You ready?" Blake asked. Jade nodded but the truth was she was far from ready. Benjamin had given the members of his sect very minimal training, telling them that violence was never the option, and she hadn't been allowed much training of her semblance either. She weighed her options and wondered if they would accept surrender. Without warning, an Atlesian Paladin tore the roof off of the building, leaving Jade shrieking and Blake diving out of the way. The suit opened up and a man dressed in all black leapt out, his façade similar to that of a ninja. He had black brass knuckles that each had a 14 inch golden blade on top, extending past the end of his fist. An injection line was visible where his gloves met his suit and Blake realized that it probably injected Dust to give him more power behind his punches. He smiled.

"Which one of you is first?" he asked. His voice was deep and menacing. Neither of the moved right away so he leapt for Jade. Blake stepped in between them and blocked his attack, his blades sliding against hers.

"Get him!" Blake exclaimed. The mech suit moved and batted Jade away. Blake glanced at Jade and then back at the suit. "There's no pilot, how is that possible?" Blake and the man exchanged glancing blows, and he kicked her in the stomach when he found an opening in her defense, sending her sliding back. The mech hit Jade again and she slammed into the wall. "Hey you! You gotta get up…" Everything was fading and Jade wondered if this might be the end, when her head and vision were filled with a soft, woman's voice. The voice was inviting, but it was cold and unforgiving.

"You don't want to live in fear anymore, do you?" It asked. She shook her head furiously.

"No." Jade stuttered the word as she tried to reply. The voice smiled and slowly lifted her to her feet, wrapping itself around her. Is this what it felt like to die? Jade knew without a doubt that her aura had broken, but perhaps the mech had killed her.

"I can help you, but in order to do so… You must become fear." Jade watched as Blake fired off several shots at the assailant, causing him to steadily back up. She threw the gun and fired it, planting it in the mech's shoulder and she swung herself up, kicking the man on the way. He landed on his back. "Would you like to become something more?"

"Who are you?" Jade asked, her body shaking violently with fear. She was sure she wasn't dead at this point, but she wondered if dying would have been better than what she was feeling now.

"Just someone who wants to help." It replied. Jade thought it over for a moment.

"Become what?" Jade replied, her voice slightly trembling. The voice wrapped tighter around her.

"A God." Jade's body shook in horror and pleasure all at the same time and she nodded weakly as the voice filled her entire body, until it was one with her, and it wrapped her in glass Dust that dissipated as her body absorbed it. "Then show them what it means to be powerful. I'll give you the gift of Glass Dust. Only those who are loyal to me are able to use it." Jade's mind crashed back into the scene, Blake standing on the mech and slicing furiously at it with Gambol Shroud. Jade looked up at her, a new strength filling her as she dropped the hunting knives and glass daggers formed in her hands. The mech spun around, grabbing Blake and tossing her far into the woods. Jade looked her hands over. What was this feeling that had suddenly filled her entire body?

"What else can I do?" She asked out loud.

 _Anything you want._ Jade grabbed the man who had harassed them and held him up by the neck. She looked him up and down. Her mind churned slowly, remembering Benjamin telling her that she was only to use her semblance in the case of an emergency. What did he know though, he was dead. Her mind was slowly twisting, but she embraced it, her soul spiraling into a darkness that left no room for light… But she wanted more.

"I think you'll do quite nicely." She told him. She tore off her Fang armor with her free hand, leaving behind the tattered material that once held the shirt together, revealing her bra and midriff. The rain landed on her body and it was cool and refreshing. She smiled, a euphoria running over her body. She shuddered with pleasure, why had Benjamin tried to keep this from her? "Those uniforms are just so restricting."

"What are you doing?" He asked, a growing concern in his eyes from the crazed look that had crept onto her face. She pulled him close and held his head tight to her right shoulder. The power she felt, it pulsated and throbbed throughout her veins, and holding this man close felt invigorating. She trembled, pulling him even closer. _Oh Salem, what is this feeling?_

"You don't want to have some fun?" She asked. She bit hard into his shoulder, venom injecting into his body and spreading as she let go and he landed on the floor. She let out a disturbing laugh and slowly turned her hands over, looking at them again. She doubled over, writhing slightly in ecstasy as she threw her head back. "I've never felt such power!"

"What did you do to me?" He asked twitching on the ground.

"You don't like it?" Jade asked. The man finally found his feet and she pulled him to her, lightly pulling on his ear with her teeth. "Perhaps I used too much?" The door behind them swung open. "Perhaps not enough?" She chuckled. She had never had so much fun before, and she owed it all to Salem.

"Freeze! Don't move!" The soldiers at the door yelled. "Agent Emmerich, is that you?!" She smiled, her breath hot on his ear. She remained motionless, her face distorting into a coy scowl. _Let's see just how much I can do!_

"I want you to take these men out for me, okay? And I want your mech back there to give us some privacy." She whispered. He looked at her, eyes lost in an abyss of confusion for a moment, before he stood up straight, aware of his surroundings again. He lifted his hand slightly, activating the controller on his wrist and the robot bumbled back into the woods. He spun around without warning and ejected the blades from his hands. They shot straight through two of the men, slicing right through their chests, and with a flick of his wrist, the chains they were attached to reeled them back into his knuckles. "Well that's a fun weapon." She looked at the last man. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Agent, what's wrong with you? Stand down." Emmerich prepared to fire again when two Knights shoved the last soldier out of the way. Jade threw both of her daggers and nailed the cybertronic militants in the head. The robots only paused momentarily and Jade sprinted for them. She pulled the daggers down, kneeing them both in the head, and as they fell back, she nailed them both in the torso, slamming them to the ground. The force was enough to smash clear through their armor. She flipped her hair out of her face and kicked the man who was lying on the ground, dazed, in the head. She placed her right hand on her mouth, dragging it down her body until it reached her stomach. _Simply amazing._

"Hope you enjoyed it boys, but the show's over!" She shouted. She swayed back over to Emmerich. "I guess I'm no longer in need…"

"What the hell are you doing!?" A voice yelled from behind her. She turned to see Benjamin standing in the doorway and a sudden wave of shame and embarrassment washed over her. Her teacher. He looked just like his son, though his hair was greying and he wore white instead of black. The man that had taught her for the last 8 years, had just caught her doing the one thing he instructed her to never do. Rage filled her and she shook her fists.

"What am I doing?!" She yelled back at him. It was silent with the exception of the rain pouring into the building around them and the occasional thunder. "You lied to me!"

"I did not. I told you that one day, we would live in peace with the humans," he explained.

"Is this what peace looks like?" She asked. He hesitated, trying to find an answer that would appease her. "You were afraid of my power, weren't you? You knew that if I used it to its full potential, I could do so much. I could start and end wars. I could rule the word! You were afraid that you wouldn't be able to control me!" He hesitated again before looking away in shame. "Were you afraid of my powers, or were you afraid of me?" She turned to Emmerich. "Get him!"

Emmerich shot his blades into the wall on both sides of Benjamin, shooting ice Dust through the chains and freezing the blades into the wall. Emmerich leapt and retracted the chains, launching himself feet first towards his target. At the last moment, Benjamin removed his bo staff, and caught Emmerich's feet with it, throwing the agent over his head. Emmerich's chains continued to pull him towards the wall and as his feet made contact he sent a charge of fire Dust into the blades, launching him back towards Benjamin again, blades first. In an instant, Benjamin pressed buttons on each end of the staff, causing it to fall into two, before a short katana blade extended from each half.

Benjamin blocked the blades with a swipe, and the follow through of his second blade knocked the man away. Benjamin stood, chest heaving as he interlocked the two back together. Emmerich stood slowly.

"You're putting words in my mouth Jade." Benjamin told her. She chuckled and it turned into a full blown laugh as she slowly walked to him, her daggers disappearing. "What do you want Jade? That's what matters most. You need to ask yourself."

"Oh I already know what I want." She said moving to his ear. She wouldn't need to use her venom on him. She'd screw with his head for a while before driving her point home. She kissed his neck softly, moving up until she was at his earlobe. "I just wanna play. That's all."

"Jade. What happened to you?" Her finger traced his chest and he found himself unable to move.

"What's wrong? You don't like the new me? Are you afraid of me now?" Jade traced Ben's jaw with her finger. "Maybe I will give you a taste after all." She giggled and it stirred a wave of nausea up in his stomach. The feeling of creating fear was intoxicating. She forced a kiss on him, biting his lip. "I want you, to stand completely still."

"Adam?" Benjamin managed. Jade turned in time to see Adam at the door and she formed her daggers again, turning back to Benjamin she swung down with her dagger and stabbed him in the chest. As he slumped to the ground, Jade turned back to meet Adam's blade with her daggers.

"Stop this right now!" He demanded of her. "We're on the same side!"

"I think you attacked me first. Let's face it sweetheart, you're not gonna fool me, I know you want him dead." She replied. She smirked and shoved him back, calculating just right as he made a quick glancing blow with his sword and she knocked it aside, stabbing him in the ribs with her right hand. The dagger sat there for a moment as Adam remained motionless in disbelief. She removed her weapon from his torso and spun around, throwing the dagger. It planted itself in Emmerich's spine and he flopped to the ground, screaming in agony. She walked over and pulled it out, the dagger dissipated into Dust again and it danced around her before disappearing. The other dagger remained in her left hand.

"Adam." Ben called out to his son. "Adam help me." Adam walked over to his father, plunging his blade deep into the man. Ben's body dissolved and drifted away, leaving Adam crouched for a moment. He sheathed his blade, picking up his father's bo staff, and stood up.

"I guess I should thank you for helping me get rid of him. He was a real piece of work. What did you do to my love?" He asked.

"Calm down Taurus. She was thrown into the woods by a giant robot. She's probably unconscious, but I'd say that thing tossed her a safe distance from the campsite."

"Who are you anyways?" She smiled at him. She looked hard at the knife, able to catch her reflection as the lightning danced across the sky.

"I am Fear." She swung the knife up, cutting off what little remained of her tattered shirt. The knife dissolved as she faced him. "I benefit nothing from fighting you," Jade told him. She made her way to the door and stopped in front of him. "Oh, and if you're ever in need of some company…" She moved close to his face and her lips brushed his. "Call me." With that she stepped out into the camp again, jogging towards the train tracks. As she reached the edge of the settlement she spotted two Faunus being dragged of by the military. She stopped, watching for a moment. She had no reason to save them, but she found herself doing it anyways as she ran for the group. "Hey!"

"Stop!" They shouted aiming their guns at her. She lifted her hands, rain dripping off of her body as it picked up in intensity and lightning flashed across the sky.

"Can you boys help me?!" She called out. One of the Faunus, a girl who had grandiose, white birds wings glanced over at the woman. The other was being dragged by three men. He had similar wings but they were more ruffled and red, and Jade guessed he must have put up a fight. "I'm wet, cold, and I seem to be a little on the lost side."

"Careful!" Their captain ordered to them. She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing their bodies tight together. He tried to resist, but snuck a peek down her bra at her cleavage. He blushed as he quickly averted his eyes, and she pushed her chest against his even harder.

"Don't be so bashful. It's only human nature." She smiled wickedly at the man.

"Ma'am. Please step away." He tried to assert himself, but his nerves took him and he stuttered slightly. She laughed softly in his ear.

"Come on. Wouldn't you like to help me get out of these wet clothes and warm me up?" She asked. She looked over the man's shoulder and looked at the girl. She never broke eye contact as she moved to the man's neck and sank her teeth in.

"Hey, what's she doing?!" Yelled one of the other men. The girl spread her wings quickly, batting the men away from her and running for the other captive. The men opened fire, but she wrapped herself in her wings and the bullets ricochet off. She opened them again just before her destination, throwing the gun out of one of their hands and grabbing one of the men, wrapping her wings around him and trapping him inside with her. There was a struggle and the other man dropped the male Faunus to assist his partner in prying the girl's wings open. Without warning, both of the men were shot by their captain. The girl opened her wings and the man dropped to the ground, his neck broken.

"Anyone else?" Jade yelled out to the group. A few of them began to retreat into the woods and the rest followed suit. Jade grabbed the captain's jaw and looked him deep in the eyes. "I want you to go after them and shoot as many of them as you can before they kill you, okay?" He nodded and took off, reloading his gun. Jade walked over to the girl and her friend, kneeling to help sit him up.

"Thank you ma'am!" The girl exclaimed. The boy slowly came to and shook his head.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Those dicks from Atlas were trying to drag you both off and do who knows what to you," Jade told him as she stood. "I'd leave the area if I were the two of you."

"We have nowhere to go!" The girl called out. Jade stopped for a moment, cringing. She knew what the girl was suggesting, but she needed time to test her new power.

"You both seem pretty useless to me," Jade replied, continuing on her way.

"We can learn!" The boy called out. Jade could hear the train and knew she wouldn't be able to reach this one in time. Maybe they could be of use.

"You want me to teach you?" She called out. She looked back to see them both watching her. They both nodded, waiting for her approval. "First things first."

"What?" They called out in unison.

"Stop that train for me."

* * *

"You remember." Salem said pleased with herself. Jade gritted her teeth. Over the years she had grown more independent of Salem, but she couldn't deny that she was in debt to the woman. "How are things coming along?" Jade looked out at the Underworld and smiled. One day she would have a share in this power. Death. Fear was a powerful asset, but there was no greater power than death.

"Things are coming along as planned," She told Salem. She then remembered that they lost Ruby. "For the most part."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Salem asked, sounding frustrated.

"Our men lost the last silver eyed huntress…" Jade started. Salem grabbed her by the neck and their surroundings changed. Salem was holding her over a chasm filled with lava.

"What do you mean lost?" asked Salem. Jade struggled for a moment but knew it was no use.

"Nightshade found her and took her back!" Jade choked out the words. Salem let out a growl and threw Jade behind her. The surroundings changed again and they were in a cave, lit only by a handful of candles. Jade tumbled across the rock floor before coming to a stop, gasping for air.

"Everything else is in order?" Salem sat in her throne and snapped. The back of the cave shattered to reveal that they were in the middle of a mass of Grimm.

"I still need a way to create artificial aura, but with the Fallen Angel process being as effective as it is, it shouldn't take me long to figure that one out." Jade explained. Salem smiled.

"Good. Soon Remnant will belong to me and Ozpin's experiment will have failed." Jade smiled. Then, she would have absolute power. The cave faded completely away and Jade was left standing on Summer's grave again. It was getting dark, and Jade headed back to her car.

* * *

Now we see who is pulling the strings, and how Jade became what she is now. But what is Nightshade doing? Perhaps we'll get a closer look at why Coco is so cold towards Blake. Next week is Chapter 9 - Blinding Rage.

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	13. Chapter 9 - Blinding Rage

Qrow opened the door of the training room, hoping to find Ruby taking it easy with a couple of the stuffed targets, getting a feel for the recoil of his weapon.

"Hey Uncle Qrow!" She exclaimed. Instead Qrow found Ruby, Sun, Neptune, and Neo playing Ping Pong. He chuckled.

"Hey Ruby. Can't say I'm surprised." He closed the door behind him as he leaned against the wall watching them play.

"You did say to take it easy, right?" She asked. He nodded and gave a smirk which she answered to with a beaming smile.

"That I did." He agreed. Ruby served the ball to two Suns, who slammed it over the table. Neo teleported back and opened her parasol. The ball rolled down and arched up coming out of the bottom, bouncing off of the table. Ruby slammed it across at Neptune who cringed and covered his body with his arms.

"Ha! In your faces!" Ruby exclaimed. "Team Rubypolitan wins again!" She high fived Neo as Sun released his semblance.

"Dude, you gotta at least try and hit the ball!" Sun exclaimed.

"The angle wasn't right! And I forgot to put on my safety goggles!" He put his goggles on and gave the thumbs up. "Now I'm ready to win baby!" Ruby and Neo stood motionless for a minute before Ruby bust out in laughter and Neo silently laughed, pointing and doubling over. Neptune folded his arms. "You see Sun? This is why I don't play sports with you!"

"Bro, it's totally just ping pong. Seriously?" The door opened again and there stood Blake, hand on her hip. She gave a scowl but they all saw right through it and knew it was mostly for show.

"Light's out for everyone not on night watch," Blake told them. Sun and Neptune groaned.

"Oh, oh! Can I do night watch duty!?" Ruby pleaded. She ran over to Blake and knelt in front of her with her hands clasped. "Please!?" Qrow smirked as he pushed himself off of the wall and headed for the door.

"Not tonight. Tonight I think it'll be Neo and Qrow." Blake said smiling. Qrow turned to her.

"Hey, what gives?" He asked. Ruby leapt to her feet.

"Afraid of the dark Qrow?" Blake asked playfully as she exited into the hallway with Ruby and Qrow.

"No, I just wanted some time with Winter." He explained.

"There's a bottle of whiskey in the cabinet above the stove." Ruby watched as the information sank in and Qrow put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"Can't be helped I guess. Winter can wait until tomorrow." He strolled down the hall and swung into the kitchen. There was a moment of silence before the sound of glass clinking against other glass could be heard."Oh you beautiful cat lady you!"

"You're welcome!" Blake called back. She and Ruby smiled at each other as the lights turned off. "Don't stay up too late Ruby. We'll start helping you get your full strength back tomorrow." Blake walked to her room and closed the door, leaving Ruby in the hall alone for a moment before Neptune and Sun came out.

"Night Ruby," Neptune told her. Sun nodded and headed into the side hallway with Neptune. Neo closed the door behind her and started heading for the stairs out, and Qrow joined her as he left the kitchen.

"Night Ruby. Love you kid." He called out.

"Night Uncle Qrow." Ruby stood in the hallway for a moment, considering the option of heading to bed, when she noticed Coco's door was ajar and light was pouring out from her situation room. She knew that she probably should have just headed back to her room and gotten some sleep, but curiosity got the better of her and she slowly walked over to the door and gave it a push. It swung open slowly and she stepped in, seeing Coco at her desk, coffee piping hot beside her as she rummaged through the documents that were scrawled across her desk. She removed her sunglasses and rubbed her eyes, stretching and turning towards a laptop to her left. She started a program that appeared to be a security feed. As the program loaded, Ruby noted a photo of Velvet and Coco as the background, Velvet giving Coco bunny ears with her fingers. Coco had never looked so happy.

As Ruby pushed the door open a touch further it squeaked and Coco spun around, her glasses flying off of the desk. They fell to the floor and slid across the room, stopping close to Ruby.

"Dammit!" Coco exclaimed. She reached out in front of her and as Ruby looked back up from where the glasses had landed she saw Coco's eyes. They were white, and completely glossed over. "Who's there? Don't you know what the hell lights out means?"

"Coco, I didn't mean to startle you. I really wasn't meaning to snoop, I just wanted to see what you were up to." Coco cocked her head slightly, processing the voice.

"Oh. Red, it's you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't over react like that all the time, it's just…" Coco stopped and wiped her eyes of the forming tears. "It's been a really hard couple of years since we thought you'd been killed." Coco stood slowly and felt out around her. "Can you help me find my glasses?" Ruby picked them up and handed them to her, her gaze still fixated on Coco's eyes. "Thanks."

"Coco, what happened?" Ruby asked. "Are you blind?" Coco chuckled slightly as she sat back down.

"Now I kinda know how Fox feels," Coco said as she turned back to her papers and began sifting through them again. "Yeah Red, I'm blind."

"How did it happen?" Ruby asked. Coco dropped her pen and adjusted her glasses, clearing her throat. "If you don't mind me asking."

"You have to find out eventually. And I guess I'd be the best person to tell you." Coco said turning to face Ruby. "It was a while after Velvet had been kidnapped and I was spending every waking moment in denial…"

* * *

Blake banged on the door for what felt like the hundredth time that day as she passed by.

"Coco, come out here and we can talk things over. I need your help, you know we can't take down the Rose Petals without you," Blake said into the door. She waited a moment, as though this time something would be different and Coco would open the door and hear her out. What had put Coco in such a mood was a rash decision on Blake's part, but with her emotions clouded and overwhelming her judgement, she didn't know what to do. She had mounted an attack in retaliation to Weiss killing Yang, and things were going well. But the closer they got to approaching Weiss's headquarters, the heavier the situation became. Weiss threw everything she had at them and when it was all said and done, Nightshade retreated and Velvet had been taken captive.

Blake told Coco as soon as she returned and Coco became irate instantly, repeating in a scream, over and over, that she knew it was a bad idea and that she told Blake not to let Velvet go. But Blake couldn't say no. Velvet had asked if she could go with so that she could prove to Coco how brave and strong she could be, as if there was any doubt in Coco's mind. So Blake begrudgingly said yes and Coco's fury was unleashed. But that was two weeks ago, and Coco hadn't come out of her room for anything since. Blake leaned her head against the door, exhaling deeply in a sigh and knocking again. She shook her head.

"Please Coco," pleaded Blake. She lingered a moment longer before walking away, wondering if it was a lost cause. Coco was balled up on her bed, knees to her chest, staring intently at Velvet's camera, which she had dropped during her struggle. The tears that streamed down her face caused the most pain she had ever known and she jumped to her feet, pacing in a flurry. Her body wasn't sure what to do with itself, and her heart and mind were both drowning in sorrow and despair.

"Velv. Please come back to me. I need you. I can't do this without you," She begged through her sobs. She opened her dresser, removing a small ring box, and setting it on top of the camera. "I love you! I want us to be together! I want us to have the cutest damn rabbit Faunus babies the world's ever seen." Her emotions overwhelmed her again and she threw her scroll against the wall, rage spilling over inside. "If I ever see Weiss again Velv, I will make her pay…" It was at that moment that Coco's scroll started ringing. She stopped where she was, listening for a moment. She slowly walked to it, assuming it would just be Blake trying to coax her out of her room again. She flipped it over, the screen cracked, to see Velvet's picture on the screen.

Coco's hand trembled and she dropped the scroll, picking it up in a frenzy and answering, holding it shakily to her ear. Was she delirious?

"Velv?" She asked softly.

"Not quite." The reply wasn't what Coco had hoped for. She knew the voice all too well. Weiss. Rage quickly boiled inside of Coco and she gripped the scroll tighter in her hand.

"Listen here Ice Queen, I swear to The Maidens if anything has happened to Velvet you little bit-"

"Tsk tsk. And here I was planning on offering you a deal." Weiss cut Coco off, chuckling ever so lightly and shaking her head back and forth. Coco's free hand slowly curled into a fist, her body trembling violently.

"What kind of deal?" Coco asked through gnashing teeth.

"I'm glad you asked. Meet me at midnight down by the docks in Vale. Leave that annoying mini gun of yours behind and don't bring any of your Nightshade friends either. See you soon." The call ended and Coco remained frozen, scroll still to her ear. She set the scroll down slowly and panic set in. What if it was a trap and Weiss was just going to kidnap her too? What if it wasn't a trap and Weiss really wanted something in exchange for Velvet? Coco weighed her options over and placed her scroll in one of her pockets. That night she would head out, completely unarmed and without anyone's knowledge. She had to. She had to save Velvet.

As curfew came and went, Coco slowly opened her door and checked down the hall both ways before stepping out into the darkness, and headed for the stairs leading out of the bunker. As she neared the top, a small room with one door leading outside, and a window that gave a near 360 degree view out, she heard voices.

"Alright. I think you're right about that one. Let's say though, that Yatsu is fighting Yang. Who wins?" asked one of the night watches. It was Sun's voice.

"Do either of them have a handicap?" Neptune replied. Coco sighed in relief, she'd have no problem sneaking out past the two of them.

"Yang isn't using her mechanical arm," Sun replied. Coco slowly opened the door to find them both reclining and facing away from her, staring out into the foggy woods.

"Yang." Neptune answered.

"Dude, seriously?! One armed against Yatsuhashi?! That guy's a beast!" Sun relied. He reached back for a moment, causing Coco to catch her breath as Sun grabbed a bag of chips and rip them open. He held the bag out towards Neptune who grabbed a handful and shoved them into his mouth.

"You weren't with us in that nightclub. Yang is one scary woman." Coco crept out the side door while they were preoccupied and took off sprinting through the woods, away from their field of vision. Once Coco reached Nightshade's outpost she grabbed one of the two vehicles, this one an armored SUV that they had hijacked from the Rose Petals. She got in the car and started it, and as she did, her head filled with the moment she had met Velvet.

* * *

"Fox, you have got to keep moving, or we are going to be the last ones to the temple, and I'm not really willing to accept that! We are going to have the best damn team and we are going to make it look good all at the same time, now keep up with me, I think the clearing is just ahead here!" She shouted back to Fox as she broke free of the edge of the woods. She stood on the edge of the clearing and placed her hand on her hip, catching her breath as she glanced back and watched Fox catch up with her. She pointed and laughed as he stopped beside her, falling to his knees and catching his own breath.

"You act like… You act like we were running for our lives back there… What was your name again?" He asked her, body heaving as he tried to draw in enough air to continue on. She looked down at him and shook her head as she placed her purse on his back. He buckled slightly and grunted before collapsing to the ground. "What's in that thing?!" She peered out into the distance and spotted the temple, along with several of the other students. She picked her purse back up off of him and grabbed his arm so that she could pull him back to his feet.

"It's Coco, and it's also a-" A roaring from directly behind them cut her off and she leapt onto Fox, covering him as the Beowolf leapt over them, clearing them both and spinning wildly in the middle of the glade, trying to throw something off of its body. Coco could hear someone stop behind her, his blade sinking into the ground beside her and Fox. She glanced over, a copper sword stuck out of the earth that was easily as tall as she was. Coco blushed, realizing that she was still on top of Fox. She rolled off of him and pulled him to his feet, holding her purse in both hands as she watched the beast buck and growl, clearly agitated. She looked back at the tall student behind her. "What's up with the Beowolf?"

"My partner is riding it," he told her. She glanced back out at the beast again and noted a student holding on tightly as the creature tried to reach back and grab the girl.

"On purpose?" Fox asked. The tall student shook his head and they all looked back out at the Beowolf.

"Yatsu! A little help please?" She called out. Coco looked at Yatsu and then at Fox. She shook her head and ran for the monster, leaving the two behind.

"I guess I'll do this myself then!" She came up several feet short and she planted her feet, her purse transforming into its gun form as she grabbed it with her other hand and mowed the beast down. "Hm." She transformed the weapon back and glanced over her shoulder, peaking over the top of her glasses at the two of them as they stood watching in a slight state of shock. "Are you boys going to quit gawking, or am I going to have to show the two of you how rough I can really be?" They looked at each other and Yatsu picked up his sword, following Fox towards Coco.

She shook her head and turned back to the dissolving Beowolf, reaching down and helping the girl up. She blushed, her bunny ears flopped slightly in embarrassment.

"Thank… Thank you for saving me," the girl told her. Coco smiled at her as she looked her over. It was the first time she had ever met a Faunus and damn, this one was adorable. Coco waved her off. Coco had the advantage of wearing sunglasses, but to say that she was getting lost in this girl's brown eyes was an understatement to be sure. "I… I like your hat…"

"Coco," Coco replied with her hand extended. The girl took her hand and shook it, smiling shyly. "I like your ears." She lit up and smiled, looking over Coco's shoulder at Yatsu who was smiling and then back at Coco. Velvet blushed even harder, crossing her arms in front of her as though she was embarrassed, but beaming all at the same time.

"Really?!" She asked. Coco nodded, smiling at her still and Velvet looked over at Yatsu, unsure of what to do with herself. "Yatsu! This is Coco! She saved me!" Yatsu chuckled and moved next to Velvet, patting the top of her head lightly.

"I saw the whole thing Velvet," He told her. He continued on with Fox towards the temple and left Coco and Velvet there for a moment to examine each other.

"Velvet huh?" Coco threw her arm over Velvet's shoulder and Velvet tensed up for a moment. "What if I call you Velv?" Velvet flushed again as she walked towards the temple with Coco.

"Sure," she replied quietly.

"I saw the camera box. Make sure you only get my good side." Coco and Velvet laughed and Coco knew there was something special about this girl.

* * *

That had been so long ago, during their initiation, the first time that they met. She had told herself after that that she would never let Velvet out of her sight again, but now here she was, rescuing the love of her life. She drove to Vale and stopped short of the docks, looking around for any sign of Weiss. A man wearing a suit with a golden tie stood on the pier, waiting for her.

"You must be Coco," He spoke to her, extending his hand for a handshake. "I'm Dorian." She knocked it down.

"I don't care, just take me to Weiss," she responded harshly, though on the inside her nerves were rattling about and getting the best of her. She waited for him to respond for a moment before losing it. She pulled him face to face and gripped his lapel. "Now!" He gently grabbed her hand, prompting her to look down at it and remove it. He straightened his jacket out and ushered her towards the piers.

"Right this way," he replied kindly. He led her to the other end of the pier, to one of the ship yards and spotted officers from Rose Petals on one of the freighters. She ran past Dorian towards the docking ramp and made her way up, feeling that all of their guns were trained on her. She reached the top out of breath, and on the opposite side of the boat was Velvet, bound to a dolly with her mouth taped shut. She rocked back and forth as she spotted Coco, before a woman wearing a lab coat slapped her across the face.

"Knock that off," the woman told Velvet. Coco balled her fists and made it halfway there before two Atlesian Knights blocked her way. She shoved against them but the refused to be moved.

"Don't touch her!" Coco yelled at the woman. Her voice echoed through the port. "I'll kill you!"

"If I were you Ms. Adel, I would try to keep your temper under control." The woman advised her. Coco was promptly silenced and looked around her, gesturing in every direction.

"Where is she?!" Coco spun slowly in a circle, peering around the ship. "Where is Weiss?!" Dorian finally reached the top and tapped Coco on the shoulder, handing her a scroll. Weiss's face was on the screen, a live video feed to wherever she was.

"Hello Coco. I'm glad you could make it. How have you been?" Weiss asked. Coco over gripped the scroll, veins bulging in her wrist.

"Is this some sort of joke Schnee? Or are you afraid that I'd bring everybody here to take turns kicking your ass!?" Coco was out of breath. She had never felt such rage before, and she was finding it hard to find a way to displace it. Her rage was fueled by desperation and misery, and it grew more intense with every passing moment. "Couldn't display an ounce of bravery and show yourself? Even if you're wrong, do you think Ruby would have stepped down from a fight?"

"Don't drag Ruby into this Coco. Right now this is about you." Weiss bit the words off and Coco laughed.

"That's rich! You mean like the way you dragged Velvet into this?" Coco asked. She turned the screen. "Look at her Schnee! She means the same to me as Ruby did to you, and you're perfectly willing to drag her into this." Weiss sighed.

"If all you're going to do is vent, I'll take my deal and leave," Weiss told her. Coco spun the scroll back around, glowering at Weiss.

"What is it Ice Queen? What do you want from me?" Coco asked.

"It's simple really. I give you your bunny back, and you tell me where Nightshade is hiding." Coco's heart sank, and a desperation set in. Her eyes turned cold. She looked up from the screen at Velvet, who shook her head, tears filling her eyes. Velvet was as dedicated as ever to their mission and it killed Coco. Coco shook with fear. _Yatsu! This is Coco! She saved me!_

"Velv…" Coco looked back at the screen. "Weiss, I… Why are you doing this?" A silence set in over the mass and Weiss's expression became plain. Coco's rage had been reduced for the moment to bone chilling and thought crippling horror.

"I'm not going to let anyone stop me from doing the work that Ruby would have wanted us to carry out," Weiss replied. Coco's expression changed as the words sank in from an extreme grief, to an extreme fury. The edges of the screen cracked as her hand crushed the phone.

"You're doing this in Ruby's memory?!" Coco threw the phone at Dorian and it nailed him in the chest. He fumbled with it a moment before catching it and turning it towards Coco. "Killing Ruby's sister and having hits put out on your friends is how you 'remember' Ruby?! If you killed Velvet, I wouldn't kill you to avenge Velvet, because that's not what she would want!"

"You think I'm a monster like the rest of them, don't you?" Weiss asked screaming. Coco was incredulous, she wondered if Weiss could truly be so naive as to think that everything was so black and white. "I loved Ruby! This is for her!"

"No! This is for you!" Weiss looked at Coco with horror filled eyes. "You like the power! You need the power! I guess as long as it gets you off and helps you sleep at night, that's all that really matters! To hell with Nightshade! Rose Petals! Ruby! Remnant! You need it to feel like you can save everyone, but you only really want to help yourself!" Coco was out of breath and watched as Weiss's face twisted with disgust and shock.

"That's not true!" Weiss screamed back. Coco's tone dropped.

"Yes it is. You've become your father." Weiss's face instantly flared with red and her eyes became dead. Weiss's hand shook as she reached up slowly, brushing the hair out of her face, her voice filled with a cold monotony.

"Ms. Landis?" The woman in the lab coat stepped forward.

"Yes, Ms. Schnee?" Coco turned back to look at the woman and then back at Weiss.

"Take Velvet and do as you see fit." Coco planted her feet and launched herself towards Alice, before she was stopped short by the Knights, each slamming her in the sides with a cattle prod. Coco hit the ground dazed, as Velvet was dragged onto an airship at the back of the boat.

"Velvet!" Coco screamed out. The knights came in again to prod her, and she rolled to her right, wrenching away one of the rods, and slamming it through both of the knights. She sprinted for the airship at it took off, diving left between a row of Dust filled crates as the soldiers taking off fired at her. Coco ran around the back of the row, throwing the rod as she came to a clearing. It impaled one of the men and the others pursued. She threw her momentum back, hanging a right down the main aisle and tackling Dorian, punching him once in the mouth before the men discovered her. She rolled over, placing him between her and the soldiers. She forced him to stand. "Don't move, or I'll kill him!"

"I'm a huntsman, I have aura," he told her, struggling in her grip.

"Well, then you won't mind this." She shoved him forward into the group, reaching out to her right and snatching one of their guns away. She back flipped twice and shot two of them, before one of them hit her, throwing her back momentarily. She dove behind the crates again, crouched with her back against the wood paneling of the containers. She was going to get answers from the man in the suit if it was the last thing she did that night.

If it was the last thing she did in her life.

* * *

Blake stepped out of her room, needing a glass of milk, or at least that's what she had come up with for an excuse for being up so late. She peered down the hall, the lights out, but it was hardly a problem considering all Faunus had near perfect night vision. As she began down the hall, she stopped at Coco's door, ready to try knocking and apologizing again. Coco could never know how sorry Blake was but even if she did know, she didn't think Coco would ever accept it. As Blake knocked, the door swung open, much to Blake's surprise.

"Coco?" Blake called out into the situation room. She stepped inside and moved to Coco's room, the door had been left open. Coco's purse was there but her scroll and sunglasses were nowhere to be found and Blake began to worry. She ran out of the room, turning on the lights in the main hall and ran down the barracks hall. She threw open Neo's door. "Neo!" Neo sat up quickly, looking around frantically but to no avail. "Another dream about Yang?" Neo nodded.

"What's going on?" asked Scarlet as he joined Blake in the hall. "I was having a bloody awful time sleeping and then you ran by. Something wrong?"

"Coco's missing," Blake told them. Neo leapt to her feet to help and quickly grabbed her blanket, wrapping it around her. She pointed at Scarlet and pointed towards the hall.

"Oh. I'm sorry! I didn't realize…" Blake closed the door.

"Just shut up and follow me if you want to help," Blake told him. Panic set in with Blake. If Coco died trying to save Velvet for a mistake that she had made, she would never be able to forgive herself. They reached the main hall and spotted Neo in Coco's doorway, waving for them to hurry. She wore her black combat outfit. "Can you find her Neo?" Neo rolled her eyes and sat at the nearest chair, frantically clicking away at the keyboard. A dot appeared on a map of Vale and blipped slowly. "Her scroll signal? Brilliant!" Neo shrugged.

"Are you sending us both to get her?" Scarlet asked.

"Yes, and take Sun and Neptune with as well." Scarlet ran out of the room as Neo leapt to her feet, shaking her head in disapproval. "I know you'd be faster, but this will be safer." Neo thought it over and nodded in agreement before disappearing. Blake watched the dot on the map. "I don't know what you're doing Coco, but I hope you're not in too much trouble."

* * *

Coco steadied her breath as she heard one of the men's boots clicking against the ship's deck, growing closer to her every moment. She slid her sunglasses behind her, and took a picture of them with her scroll, the flash reflecting off of the lenses.

"Over there!" One of them yelled. The misdirection worked and the men headed back the other way. Coco snuck out and followed the one who had gotten too close, breaking his neck and dragging him back quick. She stood and ran in the opposite direction of her glasses, leaping onto a short stack of crates, allowing her to spot and take out three more men, each with a single bullet.

"How many more?" She called out. She leapt over the back of the crates, knowing they'd come towards her voice and ran back across the ship, grabbing her shades. As she put them back on she was instantly moved back on top of the crates, and one of the men remaining threw a lightning Dust packed grenade and it exploded in front of her, the force knocking her backwards onto the deck. Her head met the wooden flooring too hard and she laid on the ground, confusion and pain set in with a slight nausea.

"I'm sorry," said Dorian standing above her. "You seem like a good person, but I have to protect Weiss."

"Dorian got her with his time glyph!" A soldier called out. Dorian walked away as the soldiers arrived and dragged her to her feet. "Not so tough now huh?" Coco's mind was broken and she stared out into an abyss of darkness. The grenade had blinded her, and her sight aided her calculations. And her calculating abilities were her greatest asset. Her mind slipped away as the men beat on her, punching her in the face and in the gut. She didn't care, she had lost Velvet to that woman and she had failed to save her. Velvet was her reason for carrying on during this war, and she had failed her. She thought of how terrified Velvet must be. Coco invited the pain with every blow.

"Who the hell is that!?" One of the men yelled. Neo appeared next to them waving, and one of them turned, firing at her. The clone shattered, and she dropped into the middle of the group, spinning to her left and slicing through three of their necks with her parasol blade. A man to her right tried grabbing her and she kicked his hand away with her right foot, sliding her left foot back so that she was inches away. She elbowed him hard in the crotch and as he fell, she nailed him again in the face. She grabbed Coco and teleported back down to the pier.

"Who's there?" Coco asked, barely able to speak. Neo dialed her scroll and dragged Coco quickly as the men began to pursue them.

"Neo?" Blake's voice came over the scroll. Coco felt relief and shame.

"Blake?" Replied Coco hearing her voice. Neo reached the car as the men reached her and Coco, standing between them and their means of escape.

"Any last words?" Asked one of the soldiers.

"Watch out!" A voice called out. The men turned, but they were too late, and were greeted by Sun, Neptune, and Scarlet entering the fray and taking them out.

"Let's get her out of here quick before more of their goons show up!" Exclaimed Scarlet. They drove the barely living Coco back to the base.

* * *

"Once they got me back here I was out of the field for weeks until Winter pulled a few strings with some contacts that she had in the army and they were able to create artificial nerves for my eyes, a lot like Yang's arm. The sunglasses are my eyes now," Coco explained. She turned away from Ruby, clicking lightly on her keyboard as she continued her work.

"Wow! But what about Velvet? I heard something about White Rabbits," Ruby inquired. Coco shivered slightly as though a chill ran through her, and she swallowed hard. She turned back towards Ruby, her eyes narrow and staring hard. "Oh, I'm sorry Coco, I didn't-"

"When I finally went back out in the field, I had a newfound determination to save Velvet. My first mission back however, I came into contact with a White Rabbit, clearly a clone of Velv. My mind completely shut down. I blacked out in the middle of the battlefield. I woke up back here and Blake explained that I had collapsed to the ground and became unresponsive to everything. I haven't gone out since." Coco stared hard at Ruby, who stood up from the chair she'd taken during the story and began to leave the room.

"One last question." Ruby told her.

"Sure." Coco replied.

"Why didn't you and Velvet ever get married?" Ruby asked. Coco blushed and looked away, her fingers pulling anxiously on each other. Coco let out a sigh.

"It's silly really. I had every intention of proposing after your wedding. I had even come to talk to you about it but Yang and Blake were there and I only wanted you to know. But nerves got the best of me, and with you dying it seemed like it would have been even more inappropriate."

"Why were you so nervous? What were you going to ask me?" Coco chuckled as she thought back to it.

"My strongest suit has always been military prowess. With the White Fang and the Grimm both gone, I felt useless and I was afraid that Velvet wouldn't love me as much." Coco shook her head. "Here I am again. The day I lost my vision I told myself that if I was blind for good I was useless, because I always needed to be fighting in a war for people to appreciate or need me."

"That's not true!" Ruby exclaimed. "You're Coco Adel! You've got a mad sense of style! And a mad appreciation for coffee! And… And sometimes you're just mad! But that's ok because Velvet loves you and that's all that should matter right? You were one of the first that accepted her as the shy little bunny Faunus she is!" Ruby stood in the door and watched as Coco's lips curled into a smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I'm sorry Coco. I'm sure that one day we'll find Velvet." Coco stood and walked to her, squeezing her in a large hug.

"You are my hope Red. You being alive makes me believe that we can still save Velv." She let Ruby go and headed back to her desk. "Get some sleep. You'll need rest for tomorrow."

"Okay," Ruby replied. "Thanks for telling me Coco." A slight smirk rested on Coco's lips.

"Thanks for listening." Ruby left the room and Coco sat in silence as she sipped on her coffee. _How does she do it? How does she stay so positive, so optimistic? She's right Velvet, one day we'll find you. I'm sure of it._

* * *

And so as more tragedies are revealed, Ruby still serves as a beacon of hope in this dark tale. Next weekend we'll look at how Ivory learned to fight and why she decided to stay with Jade in Chapter 10 - The Icarus. And Happy Easter Everyone!

Obligatory weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	14. Chapter 10 - The Icarus

Ivory's wings unwrapped from her body as her alarm blared nearby and she stretched out her body across the entire length of the bed, reaching out her arm and pressing the snooze, hoping that she could return to her dream of fighting Grimm. She missed the old days, when Jade had first found her and her brother, and they all fought constantly to survive. They lived in the woods in the southern region of the Kingdom of Vale, but Ivory felt as though it was better that they stay secluded. It had made them all stronger in the end. A chill came over her naked body and she wrapped her wings around herself again, ready to sleep for a few more minutes before she absolutely had to be up. A screeching noise jolted her awake and she threw her wings open again, in time to view a Griffon flying towards the manor.

"What the hell?!" Ivory scrambled out of her bed and dressed quickly, struggling with her other shoe as she stumbled into the hallway. The building rattled as she reached Rowan's door, banging on it. "What's going on?!" He opened the door, pulling on his vest, chain in hand.

"I don't know," He replied. They ran down the hall, towards Weiss's room, where Dorian and Cardin Winchester were waiting. After the Rose Petals formed, Cardin had joined them as Weiss's night bodyguard in hopes of getting his hands on some of the Schnee fortune, and staying on her good side.

"Weiss!" Dorian called. Weiss threw open the door, Myrtenaster in hand, bumping into Cardin and shoving him away slightly.

"Oh Cardin! You're not usually still here when I wake up," she exclaimed. "You're free to go now." He puffed out his chest and stood as tall as he could.

"I can help fight the Grimm!" He told her saluting. Rowan leaned over to Weiss.

"We don't need him," he said in her ear.

"I second that," Dorian said agreeing. Cardin walked away, heading for the front door.

"Screw all of you!" He called back towards them, slamming the door. Ivory's scroll rang and she answered. It was Jade.

"Is everything okay there? There's been an increase in Grimm all of a sudden." Jade told her. Ivory wondered what Jade was up to, seeing as Jade was usually to the point and didn't state the obvious very often.

"We can see that but why?" Ivory asked. Weiss interrupted the conversation she was having with Dorian and tapped Ivory on the shoulder.

"Who is it?" Weiss asked.

"Jade, Ms. Schnee." Ivory replied. Weiss held her hand out and took the scroll.

"I'm going to Vale to find out what's going on. Of course I'll be fine, I've fought far worse before. Here, you can talk to Ivory again, we're heading out." Weiss handed the scroll back to Ivory and took Dorian and Rowan with her down the hall.

"What is going on?" asked Ivory.

"Raven's Claw has people hostage in a bank at the moment! Whoever hired them to do this job didn't realize that paired with all of the other hell the city has been through, it would cause a Grimm stampede! Protect Weiss no matter what, I still need her alive yet! I have a call to make." Jade instructed her.

"Yes ma'am," Ivory replied without missing a beat. She hung up and jogged out after the rest of the group. Anything that Jade needed done, Ivory and Rowan did without hesitating. They owed everything to Jade after she had saved them and trained them, though Ivory didn't always care for Jade's tactics. Her mind wandered to their early trainings as the car drove for the city…

* * *

"Take a deep breath." Jade told the twins, they both had their eyes closed as they sat in the back of the limousine, heading towards their destination. They were facing towards her. "Think of the moment in your life that filled you with the most fear. Now, tell me what it is."

"The day our parents were killed," Ivory replied softly as she opened her eyes.

"I didn't say open them!" Jade snapped. Ivory closed them again, wondering where Jade was going with all of this. "Meditate on that. Rowan?"

"When I revealed my wings." He replied. Jade nodded at them both though they were unable to see her.

"When you fight today, I want you to remember these moments. I want you to meditate on them, and I want you to react in the way you would have if you could have overcome that fear. I want you to imagine that you're in that moment and you had the power to save your parents, or crush the people that made fun of your wings. Cling to that feeling, it will make you strong." They rode on for a few moments longer before the limo stopped, jolting the two.

"Where are we?" asked Ivory.

"Open your eyes." Replied Jade. They did and found that the car was parked in front of a large, plain building. Knights were posted outside of the main doors, watching as teenagers socialized in the commons and checking them over as they entered the building. Jade stepped out first, letting Ivory and Rowan out after her. Ivory thought back on the last few years together, and wondered if whatever this was, was secretly Jade's end game. It always seemed like Jade had a bigger plan from the moment she met them.

"What are we doing at Atlas Academy?" Ivory asked. Her knees shook slightly. Her and her brother had both been dressed in business attire and Jade removed badges from her pouch, handing the lanyards to both of her pupils. Rowan looked around and Ivory got the feeling that all of the security around the immediate area was making him feel uncomfortable.

"We are here on official Schnee Dust Company business. We are the head of finances and we've heard that Ironwood has been spending money on questionable expenses. If anyone asks about your age, it's because you're doing this for a work study. That should cover everything. If it doesn't and I'm still with you, let me do the talking." Jade reassured them.

"What if you're not with us?" Rowan asked.

"I'm sure that one of you would be able to come up with something," She told them with confidence. Jade smiled at the two of them and turned around, walking up to the building before being stopped by the knights.

"State your business." The one of her left asked.

"Jade Datura. I'm the Manager and Head of the Financial Division of the Schnee Dust Company. We only have a few questions to ask Ironwood and we'll be on our way," She explained to them. She handed her badge to the one on the right and he scanned it over. He nodded to the other knight.

"Are they with you?" The left one asked.

"Yes. Ivory is my bookkeeper and she will be verifying all of the numbers reported. Savage is my bodyguard, assigned to me due to all of the crucial info and power over the company's account I have," Jade replied. Ivory looked at her brother, his face rigid and unchanging. Jade leaned in towards them and cupped her mouth. "I'd tell you why they call him Savage, but he gets a little irritable from the PTSD when I recount the story." The knights looked over their badges and nodded, letting them into the building.

"Head left. Last door on the right is for visitors," they told her. The three of them headed into the building, Ivory nodding at the Knights in thanks as she passed by.

"Jade, why did you call him Savage?" Ivory asked. Jade chuckled, before clearing her throat.

"He asked me to for this mission." Ivory looked at Rowan again.

"Why?" She asked him. Still no change to his facial expression.

"Sounds badass." He replied. They reached the end of the hall and entered the office, a man sat behind a round desk that could be approached on all sides. Jade walked up to it. She smiled and leaned against the top of the table, giving the man a view down her shirt but he was distracted with a phone call.

"Does it though?" Ivory asked him trying to make small talk and calm her nerves.

"Excuse me?" She asked him. He held up a finger to her and continued his call. She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, we're here to see Ironwood?" He again brushed her off. She moved over to where the receiver was and reached across the desk, disconnecting the phone.

"Do you mind?" He shouted, turning to face her. Her face was directly in front of him and she brushed her hair out of her eyes. He stared deeply back into them, as though he was in some sort of trance. "I mean, how can I help you ma'am?"

"I'm not sure I caught your name," She told him, biting her lip slightly. He trembled before regaining composure.

"Sterling. Most people call me Sterling ma'am."

"Can you let General Ironwood know that I need to speak to him immediately? I've been sent here by Mr. Schnee and he is not amused with what has been going on behind the scenes." He broke free of her gaze and nodded repeatedly.

"Yeah. Sure… Of course." Jade smiled and stepped back from the desk, turning her back to the man as he picked up the phone.

"One day Ivory you might learn to control men with nothing but charm," Jade stated smirking, pleased with herself.

"Not sure I'd call it charm," Ivory told her.

"What would you call it?" She asked. Rowan stifled a laugh and both of the women looked at him. He returned their stares and shrugged.

"Sexual prowess?" Rowan offered. Ivory looked at Jade and shrugged, causing Jade to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Ma'am." The guard called out. She turned back to him, walking over to the desk again. "The General says that he'll be on his way any moment now."

"Good!" She exclaimed to him. "But perhaps…" She leaned over the desk again, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him in. He swallowed hard. "Perhaps you'd like to show us around. Hm?"

"Just bite him and get it over with!" Rowan called out annoyed, shaking his head. She glanced over her shoulder a moment, rolling her eyes again.

"He's so impatient today. But he has a point, doesn't he?" She asked the guard. She moved quickly to his lower lip and sunk her teeth in, injecting the poison before releasing. She stood back up. "Time is of the essence. You're going to take us behind the scenes and give us a glance. When your boss shows up, I will take care of everything, ok?" The guard looked at her, in a fog, as if he saw something different than the rest of them for a moment. It disappeared and he stood up, exiting his desk.

"If you'd like, I can show you a few things before Ironwood gets here." Jade turned back to the Alettas for show and threw her arms open before clasping her hands together and moving next to the man. She gave them a fake smile and laughed as she grabbed the man's arm, ready for him to lead the way.

"Of course! Excellent! Ivory! Savage! Stay close!" They exited through a door on the opposite end of the room and were outside in a training yard, where students were pairing off against knights. One of the students that were near the path dismembered one of the robots in a flurry, Ivory's eyes were unable to keep up with the movements.

"These are our second year students! Most of them will be able to take the most dangerous missions that Remnant can throw at them by the end of their third year!" The man exclaimed as he led them across the green.

"While this is all very exciting, all of these expenses have been accounted for already. For our records, Mr. Schnee needs us to take inventory and balance our books against all classified programs. We need details or funding will be cut, and that's the last thing anyone wants, right?" She asked him, turning him to face her and caressing his cheek.

"No! Cuts would be devastating. I'll take you to Building 4 right away." He made a sharp left turn towards the dorms and they followed him. The students that were lounging around near the dorms watched the group march through with wondering eyes.

"Can I speak freely while he's under your control," asked Ivory.

"Of course. He won't remember anything that happened while he was my prey. What is it?" asked Jade.

"What does this thing that we're looking for look like?" Ivory asked.

"You won't see it here. It was likely destroyed months ago. What we do need, is the schematics for it," Jade explained. The guard opened a door to a small garden shed, hardly large enough for the four of them to all fit in, and when they were all inside, he activated a switch, lowering them into the ground.

"Building 4 is all of the secret projects that are being worked on by the Atlesian Army that will either go completely unknown by the public and students at the school here until the day of their deployment, or forever." He led them down a long corridor before swinging open two large production doors, leading them into a busy factory like facility. "New Dust powered weapons! New Paladin models! New Penny models! Whatever classified projects or development is going on, it's going on here." Ivory removed her scroll. "No pictures, please."

"Oh no, she's ensuring that everything adds up. She's running a program that will determine if these make up for the hidden expenses that Mr. Schnee was worried about." Jade explained. "If I can leave the two of them here to do their work, would you mind taking me to your financial department in this building? I'm sure that Ironwood would keep it separate so that common soldiers without proper clearance would never know of this."

"You're completely right. Follow me." Jade left with him and waved back over her shoulder to her students.

"What now?" Ivory asked her brother as they made their way through the main floor.

"Here." Rowan led her to a table covered with weapons and other trinkets. He lifted a necklace off of the table, looking at the solidified fire Dust attached. He pocketed the item and slowly wandered around the table, peering past a large bit of machinery. He called out to one of the employees in a lab coat. "You! What are these?" The man rushed over, skeptical, and looked the table over.

"May I see your ID?" he asked. They showed him and he smiled at them, nodding. "A pleasure. I think you'll find that we're making the best use of our funds and the Dust that Schnee has given us." He picked up a necklace with a light blue crystal hanging from the end of it. "We've always known about Dust being sewn into clothing, but how can we be more discrete? If we need an agent in the field, ready to attack without being identified by his target first, how do we give him the power of Dust? Jewelry. This necklace would give a man a seemingly endless supply of ice Dust at his fingertips. Multipurpose, unlike Dust rounds. We're also trying with tattoos." Ivory picked up a quiver off of the table.

"And this?" She asked. He set down the necklace and gingerly took the item from her.

"This is one of our most powerful, yet unfinished prototypes. This quiver coats any arrow inside with a random Dust, using an extraction system that pulls the nearest Dust from the earth via radiation and some other nonsense that even I don't quite understand. Very early stage though. Unless you had a way of knowing what Dust was prominent in the area of your battle, it would be near impossible to determine what the next arrow would be coated in, without removing it from the quiver that is." He set it down and clasped his hands together, rubbing them together. "Anything else?" Rowan shook his head. "Good. I hope your audit comes back clean." He left them and Rowan reached up into his sister's wings, removing her quiver and picking up the new one, slinging her arm through it and rehiding it. He transferred her arrows, feeling around for a moment before finding the opening on the top and dropping them in..

"Strange choice of words, don't you think?" Ivory asked. "Clean?" He began walking the other way.

"Whatever." Rowan raised his hand, stopping Ivory and they slid behind one of the Paladins. Ironwood was walking through the floor.

"Yes, yes Qrow. I'll be at the rally next week to make sure that Blake has the help she needs to take down the White Fang. Are you drunk? Please don't say you love me and for the love of The Maidens stop calling me Jimmy. Yes. Goodbye." Ironwood hung up the scroll and placed it in his jacket pocket. He turned to a worker walking by, grabbing him by the arm. "Where is this woman that's wandering around down here with Sterling? I talked to Schnee, he didn't send anyone for an audit or validation. Why would he, he knows we're doing this!"

"Sir!" Yelled a worker running towards him from across the floor. Rowan recognized him as the man who demonstrated the quiver. "There are two more over here somewhere! I just spoke with them a moment ago!" Ironwood lifted his gun into the air and fired a shot. The employees ducked and flinched out of instinct, Ironwood's weapon thundering over the noise of production.

"That was a warning shot. Come out, and you'll have a better chance that the next one isn't through your head," Ironwood demanded of them. Rowan pulled on the necklace, and Ivory knew his intentions. She grabbed his arm and he looked at her, his eyes crazed. He shook her off.

"Rowan. Let's assess the situation!" She whispered. The flames danced up his wings and as he unwrapped his chain, they licked it, crawling towards each hook. He was fully ablaze and he stood up, stepping out despite his sister trying to drag him back.

"There. I've come out." Rowan said. Ironwood lowered his gun for a moment, trying to determine what he was looking at. Rowan smiled wide and he sprinted for Ironwood who shot him in the shoulder. It jerked Rowan's body to the left and he stopped for a moment. He looked at his shoulder and watched as his semblance, a red glowing smoke of sorts, swept over the spot and healed it. He looked back at Ironwood, a crazed look slowly shifting and settling into his eyes. "Ouch."

"Open fire!" Ironwood demanded. The employees scattered as guards that were posted throughout the production floor slowly moved in on him and riddled him with bullets.

"More!" He roared, laughing the entire time. Ivory knew that despite Rowan's tendency to forget things in the heat of battle, his aura would be worn down too much for him to use his semblance, and he would die. She dashed out to him, flapping her wings to give herself a slight lift, sliding to a stop as she passed him, and shielding them from Ironwood.

"Rowan!" She shouted, but she saw the look in his eye. He glared at her as she shifted, wrapping her wings completely around them. "Fine. Go." She opened them again and he flew out with uncanny speed, reaching the General and sinking his hook into the right side of the man's chest.

"Try again." Ironwood said sternly. He reached up with his right arm, picking Rowan up by the neck. The rage died in Rowan's eyes, replaced by surprise. "You've trespassed on Atlesian Military Private Property. A Government decreed classified area. Not to mention you've also attacked a high ranking official of the Atlas Military. Either I kill you now, or a firing squad can in a few weeks. Your choice." Ivory peered out from her feathers and fired an arrow between them. It exploded as it struck Ironwood, freezing his right arm. She closed herself back in. Ice, huh? Rowan felt Ironwood's grip loosen and he dropped to his feet as Jade opened a door behind the general. Sterling stepped out beside her and she swung to her right, hitting him in the jaw and knocking him out.

"You kids started the party without me?" She asked. She waved the file. "Found it."

"Who the hell are…?" Rowan kicked Ironwood in the chest, sending him sliding on his feet back to Jade. She grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face her.

"I love a man in uniform," Jade told him. She removed a dagger from her bag and jammed it into his right shoulder, breaking the ice off, but jamming his gears. She wrenched it out, taking a few wires with the dagger. Ironwood groaned in pain before turning to fire at Jade. She knocked his hand to the side, allowing Rowan a clean throw. He threw his hook, pulling it back quickly and knocking Ironwood's gun away. Meanwhile Ivory peaked out on occasion, hitting guard after guard with an arrow. Jade shoved Ironwood to the ground and knelt beside him, looking him in the eyes. "It's too bad I'm all done here. Maybe next time?"

"Let's go before reinforcements get here!" Ivory shouted. Rowan shrugged as Jade stood, clinging tight to the file.

"She's right. Let's get out of here," Jade told Rowan. The three of them ran for the elevator, riding it back up to the shed and recomposing themselves, stepping out and strolling through the dorms. Jade thumbed over the contents. She placed it into the pouch that she had brought with.

"That almost seemed too easy," she told them.

"Maybe it was." Rowan offered as a Paladin slid around the corner of the dorms and came to a hard stop.

"Halt. Intruders." It exclaimed. "Surrender now. Atlesian forces are on their way to subdue you."

"Formation 1?" asked Rowan. Ivory thought it over and looked at Jade.

"It'll work," Jade agreed. Ivory loaded an arrow and steadied it. Rowan ran for the mech, sliding through its legs and hooking each of them, pulling up quickly. Ivory and Jade ran side by side, arriving at the same time. Ivory leapt and flew over it, shooting an arrow through her brother's chain link, pinning it to the ground. It exploded and a giant ice mass kept it fixed in place. Jade smashed both daggers through the cockpit window and tore it open, pulling the man out. "I suggest you run." A shot rang out and Jade hit the ground, a bullet wound in her collar bone.

"Unless you want another one, don't move," Ironwood yelled. He stood at the shed's door, holding his gun in his left hand, his right arm had been detached. Rowan took off for Jade and Ironwood shot at Jade again. Ivory hit the bullet with an arrow, causing it to explode into shards of ice. Ivory flew for Jade now also, her sights trained on Ironwood as she landed. "You kids are young yet and have potential. She's only going to get you killed!" Jade knelt on the ground, grunting as she applied pressure to the wound.

"She taught us not to fear men like you," Ivory stated. Jade looked up at Ivory, it was the first time that Ivory had shown such passion in battle. Ivory wrapped her right wing in front of her and charged, Ironwood's bullets failed to break through. As she reached him she transformed her bow into its axe form. She opened her wing, spinning the staff clockwise, and the bottom blade sliced through the end of his gun. He stood in shock as she flapped her wings throwing him back towards the small shack. As he managed to stand, the last thing he saw was her flying through the air for him, before extending her wings upward, slamming into his chest feet first. He crashed through the building.

Rowan pressed Jade's shoulder as hard as he could, his semblance pouring off of his body and healing her. She looked at him, confused.

"You could do that the whole time?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I've only done it once before and it's difficult to do." He replied straining. He looked up at his sister, he seethed through gritted teeth. "Ivory!" She turned back to them, a smile on her face and the same crazed look Rowan had during battle filled her eyes.

"Jade… I…" Ivory stammered. Jade nodded.

"You thought of your parents." Ivory gave a nod and Rowan picked up Jade. They flew off back towards the south, and they had a long, restful trip home.

* * *

"Is everyone ready? I think it's great that we can all get some real practice in for a change and not some simulated training at the facility," Weiss said. The car rolled to a stop and three blocks down the four of them could see Beowolves and Creeps running towards the center of the city, chasing people that ran away, screaming in fear. "Is Team Wired ready?!"

"Wired?" asked Rowan.

"Yeah! WIRD!" She looked at the three of them. Rowan shook his head and the other two shrugged. "How about one of you come up with something better then? Hm?"

"What about Rowdy?" Dorian suggested. Ivory shook her head and started walking towards the action. "No?" Weiss shook her and walked by.

"No." Weiss replied. Rowan chuckled under his breath, they all jogged towards the Grimm and he cracked his neck as he reached the end of the block and crouched a moment, sizing up the battlefield. Grimm were scattered about attacking civilians and the front of the Vale City Bank had been completely destroyed. Raven's Claw members were also thrown into the fray, fighting cops that had reported to the scene and Grimm that were interfering. A Giant Beowolf leapt from a nearby rooftop and landed in the middle of the square, roaring at people that scrambled away in fear.

"Since when do they get that large?" asked Ivory. "It's bigger than an Alpha Beowolf!"

"Now what?" asked Dorian. Weiss looked at them.

"Formation 11?" Weiss offered. The twins looked at her.

"We only came up with that formation yesterday Ms. Schnee," Ivory told her. "Perhaps a different one would better suit this situation?" Weiss folded her arms, turning away from the Alettas and smirking. The Giant Beowolf batted a car across the block, it crashed through a group of cop cars, sending the officers diving for cover. It let out another roar, pleased with itself.

"And here I thought the two of you were professionals. Are you saying you can't handle it?" Weiss asked as she turned back to them. Rowan unhooked his chain and handed one end to Ivory, crouching down in front of Weiss.

"Are you serious? Rowan, you can't be serious." Ivory asked. Rowan looked back at her, a wryly look occupied his face. He turned back to face his target, hook in hand. "He's serious!"

"Will you need me Weiss?" Dorian asked. She turned to him slightly before she posed with her sword, opening a glyph below Rowan and two consecutively above him at a 45 degree angle.

"Perhaps." She looked back at Ivory. "Ready?"

"I guess," Ivory replied. They had only tried this formation 4 or 5 times the day before, but Weiss and her brother seemed confident in it working, so she did her best to convince herself as well.

"Ready Rowan?" she asked. He nodded. "Here goes nothing." Rowan flapped his wings once, leaping forward, and rocketing himself through the gravity glyphs. He folded his wings behind him to gain as much speed as possible. When he reached the top of the arc he spread his wings, stopping himself and pulling the chain, sending Ivory, who had been following him, rocketing past him. The Beowolf took off towards the police before Ivory reached her target. "Dorian!"

"Right!" He replied. He quickly opened a time glyph and placed the Grimm back where it had been standing a moment ago. Ivory slammed the hook into its shoulder and Rowan pulled the creature onto its chest. Ivory spun her body back towards the Beowolf and fired a lightning arrow. Weiss ran for the fight, opening a lightning glyph in front of the arrow, amplifying it as it struck the monster in the back. Dorian followed her. The beast roared again, standing back up despite the pain and pulling on the chain. Rowan flew through the air towards the beast. Dorian opened a glyph, transporting the Grimm back to the ground.

Rowan flew over the Beowolf and gave the chain a yank, pulling the hook out before it could stand again.

"Dorian!" Weiss yelled opening a gravity glyph. Dorian placed his hands in front of him and clenched his fists, as though he was grabbing the air. He pulled them apart slowly, as though struggling to open something, golden energy danced about his body and slammed into an invisible barrier behind him. The barrier slowly opened, revealing a large, shadow clock face behind him. Dorian reached back, grabbing the minute hand and threw it through the glyph. It screamed through and impaled the beast. The Beowolf dissolved as Rowan and Ivory arrived at it. Rowan looked down at the shadow spear and then back at Dorian.

"What the…" Rowan asked Ivory. The rift behind Dorian closed and the spear disappeared. Raven's Claw members ran from the scene as the cops made their way through the area. Weiss spun around as a Creep charged her, firing fire Dust at it. It seemed undeterred and as it reached Weiss she swiped at it, opening a glyph below herself and leaping backwards. She opened a glyph beneath it and landed horizontally crouched on a glyph behind her. She launched forward, slicing through it. Ivory loaded two earth arrows on her bow, drawing it back.

"Gravity glyphs?" She asked Weiss. Weiss formed one in front of both of the charging Ursai in the square.

"That's the last of the gravity Dust I brought with. Make it count." Weiss told her. Ivory smiled.

"Of course." She replied. Ivory's arrows found their marks and turned her targets to stone, shattering them as the shock-wave of the gravity effect hit. The remaining Grimm began to flee the area as the four watched on in victory.

"I don't think we'll have any more problems with Grimm in the area any time soon," Weiss stated as she began to head back to the car. The rest of them followed her. Ivory sighed in relief. Now they could get Weiss back to safety, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Author Note: I forgot to over the last week because I have finished this story nearly 4 months ago and I'm sometimes in a rush to post these so I don't read back over the chapter's the best, but my co-creator wanted me to mention that last weeks chapter was his favorite of the story. In addition, I'd like to say that Jade's origin story was my favorite chapter. I'm guessing no body reads this nonsense, but hey, it's cool.

Another week, another chapter! Thanks for sticking with us! It looks as though out of all of our high ranking members of Rose Petals, Ivory might be more emotionally invested than the rest. What is Nightshade doing though? Is Ruby ready to be sent out for missions? Find out next week in Chapter 11 - Training and Surviving!

Obligatory weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	15. Chapter 11 - Training and Surviving

"Ruby, why don't we start off with something easy, and then we can build our way up to something a little more difficult?" Winter asked as they closed the doors behind them to the training room and Ruby lightly swung Qrow's sword, trying to get a feel for it. She stuck her tongue out, playing with the weapon.

"Sure. Makes sense," Ruby replied. The sword transformed into it's scythe form and Ruby was in awe. "Ohhhh… So that's how you do it."

"We're going to have you attacking some of these self repairing robots," Winter told her as Qrow entered the room, closing the door quietly behind him. "We'll set them up so that they don't fight back much at first." Ruby nodded, and Winter programmed something into the remote. The robots sprang to their feet and lightly fired shots at Ruby as she wove in and out of the rows of bots, slicing through them with ease. "Qrow?"

"Don't you think that you're taking it a little easy on her?" Qrow asked as he watched Ruby tear through the opponents they had given her without any problem. Winter flipped her hair out of her face, absorbed with the readings on the tablet that ran the simulation.

"Blake instructed me not to allow Ruby to over exert herself," Winter explained. Qrow took a drink from his flask and offered it to Winter, who declined. He shrugged, taking another large swig before placing it back into his pocket.

"This is the daughter of Summer Rose. This girl hasn't fought in five years, it's true. But don't you think that we could give her something a little more difficult than a pointless hack and slash? How is she going to benefit at all from this training?" He asked her. She turned away from Ruby, towards the door, and moved close to Qrow.

"What do you suggest?" She asked. He smiled.

"I've got something in mind that'll benefit everyone." Qrow opened the door and left as Ruby finished slicing through another set of robots.

"This is great and all, but can I do something a little more… challenging," Ruby called out asking sheepishly. Qrow returned moments later, a sack in one hand, and Reese behind him. "Uncle Qrow?" Ruby came to a sliding halt as she started to walk over, curious as to what the bag contained.

"This is going to be monitored, and I figure that neither of you have been in the field for a while, so how's about you fight each other?" Qrow asked. Reese's face became flush and she tried to leave.

"Qrow…" She managed. She stopped for a moment, only to look up at him with eyes begging him to let her leave. He frowned but nodded.

"I won't make you stay," He told her opening the door for her.

"Come on Reese?" Ruby asked, unable to hear them, approaching from across the room. "We'll have a proper rematch from the Vytal Festival. It'll be fun." Reese stopped for a moment, her eyes focusing on the floor. "I'll go easy on ya." Reese's mind slowly turned over in her head and she tried to suppress a slight laugh.

"We totally could have took you guys," Reese said as she turned around. Ruby was now steps away from them.

"Oh yeah! Prove it!" Ruby declared. Winter looked at Qrow who nodded and smirked. _He's up to something. He somehow knew that Reese would agree._

"It's on!" Reese ran out of the room to retrieve her board. She ran into Blake and bounced off, ducking past her and continuing down the hall. "Sorry Blake!" Blake entered, glancing back into the hall and then at Ruby.

"Qrow, what did you do?" Blake asked. Qrow chuckled.

"They'll be fine. I'm here to make sure things don't get out of hand." He reassured Blake. Blake raised an eyebrow, folding her arms and cocking her hip. "Okay, Winter is here to make sure that things don't get out of hand." Ruby walked over to them. "You gonna stick around to watch?"

"I think I will," Blake replied. "I haven't seen Reese smile like that since the incident, let alone agree to a fight." Reese came running back in, board under her arm, as Winter adjusted the room setting on the wall panel closest to the door. Two of the walls slowly slid out with a grinding noise, before coming to a stop, after doubling the size of the room.

"Alright, here you go." Qrow said pulling out a handful of Dust crystals, and Dust cartridges. "Ruby, I recommend you use my sword the same way you'd normally use Crescent Rose. Each of you have been given one Ice, Fire, Gravity, Lightning, and Earth cartridge. Winter has the arm bands that will monitor your aura. Reese, you can start at the far end of the room and when you both hear the buzzer, go crazy." Winter strapped the monitors on them and adjusted them. The three spectators moved over so that they were standing in front of the door and Winter held the tablet in her hands. Reese slowly rode, weaving back and forth slightly until she reached the end of the room, jumping off of her board and holding it in front of her, in her hands, like a shield. Ruby stood with the scythe extended behind her.

The buzzer sounded and Ruby used her semblance to shoot across the room, full speed towards Reese. As she reached her target, Reese leapt onto her board and crouched, barrel rolling to her left as Ruby came out of her semblance and stopped on a dime, leaping to her right. She brought down the scythe, it slid across the bottom of Reese's board, which was almost horizontal, as she had managed to evade and load ice Dust into her board. The scythe's blade was coated in ice as it stuck to the ground and Reese dropped off of her board, grabbing the side of the deck and pulling it to the floor, freezing the rest of the scythe from bottom to top. Reese pulled the board in half as Ruby leapt, kicking the scythe with both feet to free it. Reese dove out of the way to her left, firing at Ruby as Ruby landed on her hands, springing off of them onto her feet, and serpentining through the bullets.

Ruby picked up the weapon and it became a gun, she fired several shots at Reese. One of them hit her in the chest, causing her to slide back and reconnect her board, blocking the next several bullets. Ruby paused to load a cartridge, just long enough for Reese to throw the board like a disc, knocking an unsuspecting Ruby onto her butt. She fired from her seat, the gravity bullet crashing into the board and slamming it into Reese. Reese stumbled back, recuperating from the blow as she managed to get a handle on her board, twirling in front of her. Ruby managed to find her feet again and Reese blocked several shots while rushing towards Ruby, reaching her after several steps.

Ruby formed the weapon into a sword and Reese's board clashed with it. Ruby pulled back to swing again and Reese grabbed her board so that she held the same side of the deck in both hands. She exchanged blows with Ruby using the side of the board as a blade before inserting the gravity Dust and letting Ruby hit the broadside of the deck again. It threw Ruby back and she slammed into the wall, rebounding off quickly as saw the board coming for her. It bounced off of the wall where Ruby had been and came back to Reese, who leapt and flipped onto the board. As she flipped through the air with the board attached to her feet, Ruby spotted a clear shot and hit the board with an earth bullet, turning the board to stone and sending Reese tumbling across the ground as the board hit the floor.

"Ha!" Ruby exclaimed. Reese lifted her hands and the board broke free in its gun form. Reese caught them and opened fire again at Ruby, who blocked the shots using the sword as a shield. When Ruby lowered the sword to see where Reese was, Reese smashed the board into her, sending her reeling back again. Ruby loaded the lightning cartridge quick, but missed, and rolled out of the way as the board spun through the air towards her. It returned to Reese once more and she leapt on, loading in fire Dust and riding right at Ruby. Ruby blocked several spins from Reese with the sword, the explosions trying to throw the weapon from her hands. She quickly formed it into a scythe. As Reese came out of her last spin, Ruby swung past the board, just close enough, and fired the gun, pulling the scythe blade back quickly from recoil. It caught the front of the board and spun Reese away, throwing her off of the board.

The board returned to Reese and as it arrived, Reese slammed lightning Dust into it. The board flew back through the air for Ruby, who fired it back using her ice Dust. The board sailed through the air, making its way back to its owner. Reese performed a backflip, kicking her weapon as it approached and freeing it of ice. It attached to her feet immediately and she finished her flip, riding in a zigzag pattern towards her rival. She spun herself, leaping off of the board towards Ruby. The board reached Ruby first and she had enough time to bat it away, but not Reese also. Reese landed a hit on Ruby's jaw and grabbed her board out of the air from behind her as it boomeranged, batting Ruby backwards. Ruby bounded across the floor and lay face down as she came to a stop.

"That's it." Qrow announced. "Reese. You beat her." Reese dropped her board and ran to Ruby, helping her sit up.

"Ruby! I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" Reese asked. Ruby regained her bearings as she set the scythe down beside her on the floor. She looked at Reese, amazed at the girl.

"Reese! That was amazing! I never knew that you were that good!" Ruby rambled on excitedly. Reese blushed.

"Thanks Ruby! You were amazing yourself!" Reese replied. She helped Ruby stand up and the girls went on and on about how great the other was. Qrow and Blake left the room, leaving Winter to follow up with the two. Blake took him back to her room and sat with him on the couch.

"Did that go as you had hoped it would?" Blake asked Qrow as he removed his flask again. He nodded as he took a large swallow of the remaining contents. He looked into the opening, swirling it around before drinking the rest.

"Oh yeah. Are you kidding me? I knew that Ruby would be impressive despite the fact that she's been out for so long, but I never could have guessed she would be that strong. That Reese girl was pretty impressive herself. All in all I would call that training a major success, wouldn't you?" Blake looked away from him and stood up, moving to the pictures of her and Yang on the wall. He knew what was going through her mind. He rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"I just don't want to push anyone too hard. No one here has ever been in this sort of scenario before. I've seen the effects that it can have, especially in this war that we're stuck in the middle of. The rest of them aren't even stuck in it honestly, I've just dragged them along for the ride, and they've paid the price. I've paid the price as well," Blake told him, touching the photo of herself and Yang kissing on their wedding day. "It's not fair to them…"

"Don't say that," Qrow told her as he stood. "Sure it's not fair to them. It's not fair to anybody here. You, Coco, Velvet, Yang, Anybody. But we all know what Weiss is doing is wrong, and we all know that if she isn't stopped, or whoever the hell is actually in charge over there isn't stopped, we're all going to be screwed harder than the characters in your _Ninjas of Love_ book." Blake blushed slightly, laughing nervously. She rubbed the back of her neck.

"What?" She asked. "I…"

"Blake, I've read it before. Calm down." Blake was silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say next.

"So you plan on leaving for Patch tomorrow?" Blake asked. He moved next to her and looked at the pictures, smiling thoughtfully at the memory of the wedding.

"Yep. Gonna get Winter out of here. If you need her again you can call her, but she's still trying to piece things back together with the Atlesian Military since Weiss took their money, but that's old news I suppose. I'll pick up Ruby's things while I'm there and bring them back," Qrow replied. He moved for the door.

"This will all be over soon, right?" Blake asked him. He smiled at her.

"I hope so Blake, I hope so." He opened the door to find Coco preparing to enter. "Coco."

"Qrow." She said nodding and letting him pass by her before entering the room. "Blake." Blake's look became somber, Velvet always came to mind when Coco came to talk to her.

"Hey Coco, how's it going?" She asked. Coco shrugged.

"It's going alright. Was wondering if you'd want to join our transmission? I'm going to keep the patrol group company today while they're out and about. That's all." Blake softened, wondering why Coco was acting more personable than usual, but she didn't dare ask.

"Who do we have out there today?" Blake asked as she headed with Coco over to her situation room.

"Well, as you know, for the most part the computer picks the best pairs and picks them at random. However, the pairing system doesn't take into account personalities," Coco explained as she sat at her desk and handed Blake an earpiece.

"Who did it pick today?" Blake asked.

"Neptune and Dew," Coco said, a grin plastered on her face. She looked up at Blake and the two of them laughed.

"That's awful," Blake managed between laughs.

"Hopefully they don't kill each other!" Coco replied.

* * *

"So I was thinking, if you're free this Saturday, maybe we could make a trip to the far side of Vale and get some food. Dinner even. Like a date," Neptune mumbled as he slowly marched through the woods, feet behind and out of the listening distance of Dew. She used her spear as a walking stick of sorts, brushing her hair out of her face as she rounded the last large tree that would lead them back to the main path. He cleared his throat, prepared to ask her. "Hey, do you think…"

"Unless you want this spear through your chest, don't even think about it," She told him as she continued on. He shuddered, and decided it best not to speak with her.

"Are you both there?" asked Coco. "We're ready to make sure you guys don't get too bored out there. You can think of it as a courtesy call of sorts. Thanks for helping us out Dew, it means alot."

"Not a problem," she said as she began to head closer to the mountain. "Vacuo is the first kingdom that Weiss would take next if Nightshade fails. Team NDGO is glad to lend its services, especially since Weiss kidnapped Gwen and Octavia when we came here last summer for vacation." There was an anger and bite at the end of her statement. Without warning, Neptune tackled her, throwing them both into a large bush. "I swear to The Maidens Neptune-"

"Look down the path!" He exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Coco!"

"Shut up Neptune!" Coco replied. "I've gotta re input coordinates and other information into the computer every time you guys need my help!" Neptune and Dew both held their breath as a large group of Rose Petal soldiers, 4 Dust Knights, and a man wearing a black shawl, with only one ram's horn. He was a bigger man, and walked at the front of the group.

"Coco! Anything yet?" Neptune asked. "They've got some sort of small crate with them. Why would so many men be protecting such a small load?"

"That's it?" Asked Coco. "All they've got is a box?"

"He's right," Dew replied. "Two men are carrying the crate with straps, a man on each side. It's not really any larger than your purse. Going silent, they're coming close!"

"What the hell are we transporting in this box anyway that we need this many men?" An officer asked as he jogged up to the front. Joseph stopped them for a moment and turned to the officer. He groaned and turned to face the man.

"Are you complaining? I thought someone of your rank would be beyond complaining Officer Pyne," Joseph told him. The officer shook his head, slowly stepping back away from Joseph who matched him step for step.

"No! Complaining? Who's complaining? I'm just curious as to what's in the box." He reassured Joseph. Joseph stopped walking towards him and smiled.

"Is that all?" He asked. The officer nodded repeatedly. The smile vanished from his face. "This is a newly developed super weapon, and we've been tasked with bringing it back to headquarters. Now, if anyone else has other questions about what we're doing, I'd ask that you keep quiet. We wouldn't want my temper to flare."

"Okay, I got a visual. It looks like you're dealing with 12 soldiers, 4 Dust Knights, and a larger individual. That box is giving off a strange interference on the feed. I'm not sure what could be inside of it. It'd be best if we take it from them. I recommend taking out the Dust Knights before they can use any Dust to their advantage. The only one that might give you trouble is the big guy," Coco told them.

"His name's Joseph. Close combat is absolutely necessary," Blake explained. Coco looked at her and silenced her mic.

"You know this guy?" Coco asked her.

"Knew him, yes." Blake replied. "He was quite close to Adam during the end of the organization's spiral into complete villainy." Coco nodded in thought, and turned back to her monitor. Dew and Neptune were still in the bushes, waiting for Coco's instruction.

"Neptune, you can probably take out two quickly with shots from your gun. Dew-" Coco began.

"No worries," Dew replied, holding her spear out in front of her. "I got this." Dew spun her staff in small tight circles, faster and faster until she jabbed at the air, sending a concentrated blast of wind at two of the soldiers, blasting a fist size hole through two of their chests. "Now Neptune!" Neptune shot the other two quickly and they both leapt out of the foliage. Neptune transformed his gun into a trident and speared the three nearest men as Dew swept away three more of them in a small tornado, tossing them far into the woods. Joseph turned around to acknowledge the commotion.

"Well, if it isn't a couple of Nightshade members. I'd like to be the first to say that the pleasure is all mine," He greeted them. He looked at his men, cracking his knuckles. "The rest of you keep moving back to base. I'll handle these two." The soldiers marched double time as Joseph prepared for the fight. He grinned.

"Be careful. This guy's a handful," Blake told them. Dew bounced lightly on the balls of her feet and Neptune pulled on his goggles, holding his trident in both hands.

"Let's dance Fishnets!" Joseph exclaimed. Dew gave him a crooked smile and dashed for him, meeting him halfway. She used her spear like a staff, holding it horizontally and hitting him on the left, the right, and then the left again, breaking his defense on the third hit. She leapt back as Neptune charged in leaping, bring his trident down to impale Joseph. Joseph caught the end of the weapon and swung, batting Dew away with Neptune, before Neptune activated his weapon, sending lightning coursing into Joseph. The electricity tore through his body and he let go of the trident, flinging Neptune away. Dew leapt up and grabbed her spear with both hands at the end, swinging it like a sword as Joseph reached her with blazing speed. Her spear met his fist and she slid back, Neptune running past her. Neptune tried running the man through several times, each attempt being batted away by Joseph's hands. He finally landed a blow on Neptune, sending him bounding back to Dew, who caught him under the arms and stood him up.

"Thanks!" He told her.

"Never speak of it again." Joseph charged again. "Hold on tight!" She grabbed the end of his trident and leapt back, throwing her spear end out towards Neptune. He caught it at the last moment and they clotheslined Joseph at chest level who fell onto his back. Dew threw the end of Neptune's trident back towards him, and leapt for Joseph, her spear driving down straight for him, but he rolled out of the way. He found his feet as Neptune's trident slammed into his face. Joseph stumbled away, spitting blood and chuckling.

"So… It seems that not all of Nightshade is as pathetic as the blonde," Joseph told them. Blake let out a slight whimper.

"Ignore him Blake," Coco said over the microphone. Blake shifted in her seat, trembling in a slight rage and panic. She leapt out of her seat and Coco grabbed her arm. "Blake!"

"Let me go!" Blake yelled. Coco pulled off her glasses and forced Blake to look into her eyes.

"Do you want this?! Huh?! If you go out there, the result may be worse! Don't do what Yang did, you were always the level headed one around here! Keep it that way!" Blake looked at Coco, knowing the woman couldn't see her at the moment, wondering what had come over her so suddenly. It wasn't like Coco hated her, but they sure as hell didn't get along anymore. Blake sat back down begrudgingly.

"Okay," She replied as Coco put her glasses back on.

"Leave Yang out of this!" Neptune exclaimed for Blake. Joseph chuckled.

"Well then Goggles, I'll kill you first!" Lines of gravity Dust flared on his black cloak and in a blink, Joseph slammed into Neptune, planting him in a large tree a few feet into the woods. His cloak died again as Dew ran for him and white wind Dust glowed down his shawl. He swung for her, missing, but the Dust formed a wind blade of sorts and lacerated her arm. She cried out in pain as she grabbed her arm, struggling to grip her spear through the pain.

"Maybe you all _are_ as pathetic," He spoke to her. He slowly walked towards Dew, who glanced around for an idea to escape. Before Joseph could grab her, Neptune fired several rounds into Jospeh, causing him to slowly back away as he blocked them with his arms. Neptune transformed the trident back and turned to Dew.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes you idiot! Look out!" Neptune quickly tossed her a Dust vial as Joseph's fist slammed into him, using earth Dust. Neptune bounced across the ground and Joseph slammed his fist against the ground, causing a mass of rock to burst from the ground behind Neptune. He slammed into it. Joseph turned to see that Dew was missing and he slowly moved towards Neptune, lifting him by the head with both hands, ready to crush his skull.

"Any last words?" Joseph asked. Neptune struggled a moment before his hands dropped to his sides, his trident tip barely reaching the ground.

"Yeah. I hate water." Joseph cocked his head as a cyclone appeared around them, drenching them both. Neptune activated his spear and the electricity coursed through both of them, throwing them away from each other. Neptune twitched on the ground as Dew approached him to help him up. "Th- th- throw him out into the w- w- woods and l- let's go!" She spun her spear to form a horizontal twister from the end of it and launched it towards Joseph who convulsed as he attempted to find his feet. It sent him through several trees and out of sight into the forest.

"Come on!" She exclaimed to Neptune, helping him stand. They ran back from the direction they came, heading back to the bunker. "Why did you have water Dust on you anyway?"

"Sun gave it to me as a joke!"

* * *

Coco and Blake removed their ear pieces and let out a sigh of relief.

"It could have gone worse," Blake said.

"True," Coco replied. "Unfortunately we weren't able to get that weapon. Or whatever it actually was."

"Hey." Coco turned to face Blake. "Thanks for keeping me from doing anything I'd regret."

"Heh, don't mention it," Coco replied, holding back a grin. Ruby opened the door and came in with Reese, they were both giggling about something.

"Hey guys, did we miss anything crazy?" Ruby asked. Blake sighed again.

"You could say that." Coco chuckled.

"So am I combat ready?" Asked Ruby. There was a silent moment. "Get it? Like Penny."

"Yeah, we got it," Coco responded. "What do you think Blake?" Blake shrugged.

"You looked good in the training room. Another good training session tomorrow and I suppose I can let you go out." Ruby pumped her fist in the air.

"Yes!" Ruby looked at them both. "What about contacting Weiss?" Blake frowned.

"We're still waiting for the right moment to present itself. I promise Ruby, it'll be sooner than later."

* * *

So it seems that Ruby is back to her old self, but they were unable to stop Joseph from delivering the package back to Rose Petals. When will Ruby get to prove herself in the field? What will the consequences of allowing that package to make it through. Next week however, we're going to look at the questionable side of what Weiss has been allowing to happen. Chapter 12 - Fallen Angels!

Obligatory weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	16. Chapter 12 - Fallen Angels

**If any of my follows are receiving massive amounts of spam today I apologize. Neither my co-author or I have gotten the email confirmation that today's chapter was posted. Sorry!**

* * *

"So, for tonight's recon mission we have Neo, Sun, Nebula, and Sage. Anything spotted yet?" Coco asked the group from the comms unit. They all slowly made their way through a field on the far side of Vale.

"So, someone tell me again why we're so far from the base?" Sun asked. "I mean I know she's got warehouses nearby and what not, but would they really keep something important out here?"

"It would be farther away from us then," Nebula offered rolling her eyes. "He's sorta dense, isn't he?" Sage shrugged.

"Guess this would be a bad time to bring up that Sun suggested our team be called Team Sun?" Sage asked. Nebula face palmed and Sun stopped in his tracks as he heard something coming near.

"Anyone else hear that?" Sun asked. The dropship screamed by overhead and 4 pods were ejected, slamming into the ground as they landed. "Coco, we have a situation!" Coco moved quickly to her laptop and tapped furiously on the keyboard. Sun and his team froze in their tracks and remained motionless for a long moment.

"They must have spotted us." Coco rubbed her forehead. "It has been two weeks, hasn't it?" _Dammit. I guess we won't be collecting any intel tonight._

"What are we doing?" asked Sun. "What's the plan?"

"Get back to the ship now, we can't take the Fallen Angels, it never ends well!" Coco leapt to her feet and ran to her door, shouting out into the hallway. "Someone get me Blake and wake Qrow up, I might need him!" Team SSNN ran back towards the airship and Nebula could hear the pods opening behind her. She peeked back for a moment and stopped dead in her tracks as the rest of the team continued to run. Everything became still and time stopped around her as Octavia stepped out of one of the pods. She looked the same as she had, with the exception of her eyes being a deep, dark green, soulless void. Her veins glowed with a faint green color that pulsated slowly. Nebula was frozen and Sun ran back to her.

"We have to go!" Sun exclaimed. "Come on!"

"But it's Octavia! I can't leave her here! Not like this!" Nebula exclaimed. Sun grabbed her arm before she could take off running.

"You will not be able to talk any sense into her, and she'll tear you apart! We've seen it enough times already. Whatever they did to her, she's not in there! If she is, she can't hear you." Sun desperately tried to explain to her. Nebula looked at him, trying to comprehend the situation, and she slowly nodded in agreement, running back towards the airship with him. The group arrived, but as they were about to climb on, the airship moved on its own, violently being tossed into the air. They turned around to see Glynda standing before them as an angel, the ship crashed back to the earth behind them, exploding and throwing them off of their feet. "Coco! New plan! Right now!"

"Get me Qrow!" Coco yelled again. Someone entered the room.

"He's not here right now!" They replied.

"Then get me Winter! Where is Blake?!" Coco demanded. "Sun, I hate to tell you this, but your only option right now is going to be fighting. I'll get you out of there as soon as I can!" Sun leapt to his feet and dragged Nebula with him, sprinting to their right.

"What about Sage and Neo?" She asked as she wrenched her hand away and ran back into the field with him.

"They can handle themselves!" Sun exclaimed. Without warning, Sun was kicked in the face by an invisible assailant, and he hit the ground hard. Emerald appeared with Octavia. "You again?" Sun pulled himself up with his staff and leapt to his feet, spinning the staff above him.

"Octavia! It's me!" Nebula yelled at her teammate as she swung, their swords clashing. Sun shook his head.

"It's no use. She's not going to snap out of it!" Sun tried to warn Nebula again. He back flipped as Emerald came at him with a melee attack, which he blocked with his staff, batting her hands away each time. He spun his weapon, blocking a flurry of attacks from Emerald's blades and they both leapt back from each other. Nebula was knocked back with a blast from Octavia's blade. She sliced through the air, sending waves of fire Dust at Nebula who back flipped several times, avoiding being hit. Nebula retaliated by firing three bolts rapidly at Octavia, and Octavia sliced through all three. Sun ran forward, front flipping and cartwheeling between Emerald's chains as she ejected them. As he reached Emerald, he knocked her feet out from under her and nailed her in the face with the end of his staff. She disappeared.

"Looking for me?" She asked. Her chains shot past him and her blades hooked over his staff, which he was holding parallel to the ground. They retracted and he found himself being choked by his own staff.

"You must think you're pretty clever," he told her. Nebula ran past him and clashed several times with her teammate again. He detached the staff into its gun chuck form, causing Emerald to stumble back from the force of pulling against Sun's staff. Sun swept her feet out from under her and hit her four times with his gun chucks before she vaulted herself up, planting both feet into his chest, and sending him sliding away. "How are we holding up Coco?"

"Hang in there! Winter is going to have her airship there as soon as she can!" Coco replied sounding slightly frantic. Meanwhile, the fourth pod had opened and paired Sage up against Yatsuhashi.

"Coco. Isn't this a friend of yours?" Sage asked. There was silence on the radio for a moment as the two men exchanged crushing blows off of each other's swords, tearing the earth apart and beginning to create a relatively large crater.

"Coco. Just remain calm," Blake said, her microphone live.

"What is it that Weiss has against me!?" Coco yelled, entirely irate. Coco let out a scream and slammed something, the crash audible on the other end. They could hear her breathing hard into the mic and she cleared her throat. "Be careful with him if you can." Sage grunted as Yatsuhashi swung harder and harder. "Please?"

"I'll do my best," Sage grunted. Neo ran past, Glynda close behind her, and she tripped.

"Nowhere to go now young lady," Glynda told her. She lifted a mass of land that had been ripped from the ground by Yatsuhashi and Sage's fight and slammed it into Neo telekinetically. The debris cleared and Neo's body was nowhere to be found. Glynda's hand holding her switch was yanked back by Neo's parasol, spinning her around to meet Neo in mid flip, kicking her in the side of the head. Glynda stumbled back and Neo ran at her, leaping into the air, and springing off of Glynda's shoulders with her hands. She landed behind Glynda who spun to face her again, but was greeted this time with Neo's parasol being slammed into the side of her skull. Glynda fell back, trying to use telekinesis as she fell to take Neo down also, but instead smashed it into Yatsuhashi who deflected it, but stumbled back. Neo hooked Sage's shoulder with her parasol, pulling herself up and perching on his right shoulder.

Sage looked up at her and she returned his gaze, holding her parasol steady in front of her with one hand. She slapped his shoulder and the underside of his arm until he mirrored her, holding his sword out flat, parallel to the ground. Yatsuhashi charged and Neo ran to the end of the blade, opening her umbrella and blocking his swing. She pirouetted backwards, holding the parasol behind her and twirling it. She front flipped over his next swing, landing on the very tip of Sage's blade and taking a step back. She held her umbrella out to her right as debris smashed into it, and the clone shattered, revealing that the real Neo had teleported to Yatsuhashi's shoulders. She leapt off, landing on Sage's sword again and blocking another swipe from Yatsu, this time with her parasol closed. Glynda telekinetically threw another chunk of terrain at Neo and Neo dropped, landing on her chest and wrapping her arms around the blade. The earth smashed into Glynda, seemingly knocking her out.

Yatsu raised the sword above his head and swung it in a circular motion, giving Neo enough time to leap back to her feet on the sword. He leapt into the air an impressive distance and swung down with incredible might. Neo quickly back flipped off of the sword and hooked Sage's shoulder with her weapon again. The sword met Sage's and both the clone and Sage shattered. Yatsu looked around for a moment before realizing they were above him. Sage swung his sword, now positioned under Neo's feet again as she was facing the ground, and she shot towards Yatsu like a torpedo. As her feet approached his face he grabbed his sword and met her kick with the blunt edge, perpendicular to her body. He launched her back up and away, the ground being destroyed further as the sword blades met again but Yatsu refused to be moved. Neo lightly floated down and perched on Sage's sword again, which he held out in preparation of her landing. Glynda slowly stood and used her abilities to fling Sage's sword up, launching Neo into the air. She teleported in front of Sage who was defenseless to Yatsu's next swing and she took the blow, bouncing through the field towards Sun and Nebula.

"Just a few more minutes!" Coco exclaimed. Sun and Emerald exchanged glances, neither of them able to land a shot on the other.

"Sure, no problem!" Sun replied sarcastically. Neo shoved Sun out of the way and dodged Emerald's close combat attacks.

"Well if it isn't the traitor?" Asked Emerald. Neo shrugged, opening her weapon and allowing Emerald to strike it. She shattered and teleported onto Sun's staff. He launched her into the air and threw his weapon like a javelin. Emerald batted it away and Sun occupied her hands as Neo's foot slammed into Emerald's temple. Emerald hit the ground, unable to move. Neo smiled and turned for Octavia when shards of pink Dust slammed into her, sending her reeling back and tumbling across the field. Neo stood, regaining her bearings when a tree along the edge of the field fell on top of her.

"Neo!" yelled Sun. He turned to see Glynda. "Well hello Ms. Goodwitch. Long time no see." She fried blasts at him and he flipped out of the way, the ground torn apart by the energy she fired.

"Join us Sun. Resistance will only lead to death." She told him. He fired off multiple rounds at her, alternating between his four guns, but she blocked them with a force field and his bullets either fell to the ground or exploded off.

"Is that in the brochure?" Sun asked. "I'm pretty sure I read that in the Rose Petal recruitment brochure!" He reattached the guns into a staff and spun it, blocking her Dust attack. He ran towards her and flipped through the air, spinning the staff behind his back before leaping over it and spinning it through her legs, knocking them out from under her. She fell to the ground and as Sun was about to finish off her aura, Yatsuhashi batted Sun away, close to where Neo had landed.

"Sun!" Nebula called out, still struggling with Octavia. Octavia slammed her sword into the ground, cracking the earth and sending fire and lava blasting forth into the air. Nebula leapt onto her teammate, firing bolts back through the fire and they slammed into Yatsu, exploding as they made contact with his aura and knocking him out. Nebula reformed her sword just in time to block a near fatal blow from Octavia.

"Octavia! This has to stop! I know that deep down in there, you know that I'm your friend and you would never hurt me!" Nebula pleaded. As their swords were locked, sliding against each other, Octavia activated hers, sending an explosive shockwave out and throwing both of the women back. "Sage..."

"This won't end well for us. It can't, can it?" He called out to her, wobbling as he walked for her, his knee seemed badly injured from his fight with Yatsuhashi. Octavia ran for Sage, sliding across the dirt that had been formed from the earth being torn up and struck him in the other knee before he had time to react, dropping him onto his face. At that moment the airship appeared over the tree line, Winter and Scarlet standing in the opening. Winter opened a large glyph and fired her semblance birds into it, they turned black and slammed into Octavia, plowing her into the ground and knocking her out.

"Go Scarlet!" Winter yelled, opening a series of glyphs that formed a tunnel of sorts to the ground. He leapt in and fired through, hitting the last one gently, and running to the tree for Neo and Sun. Sun was able to stand and he carried Neo back to the airship as it landed. Scarlet ran back out and dragged Sage in with the help of Sun. Nebula looked at them on the other side of the volcanic landscape that Octavia had created and attempted to stand. Glynda knocked Nebula back onto her side and telekinetically threw Sage, Sun, and Scarlet into the airship, lifting it into the air with her powers. "No you don't!" Winter leapt down.

"Winter!" Sun called out.

"Go, I'll be fine! This is too dangerous for the rest of you!" She shouted at them.

"Listen to Winter, she can manage," Coco instructed over their comms. Sun shrugged and told the pilot to leave, leaving Glynda and Winter in the midst of the carnage.

"Glynda. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you take Nebula," Winter said as she formed a glyph below herself and behind herself, steadying her sword to run it through Glynda.

"Qrow used to say you thought you were better than you actually were. To think I always defended you," Glynda replied. Winter could only imagine what kind of mind control was being used on these people. Winter gritted her teeth.

"I'm really going to enjoy kicking your ass!" Winter launched, her sword being met by Glynda's switch. The older woman parried several times before adjusting her glasses and telekinetically throwing Winter away from her. Winter formed vertical glyphs in a circle around Glynda and flew past her between glyphs, tearing Glynda apart as the woman did her best to defend from the attacks. After a handful of hits Glynda managed a quick force field, which Winter slammed off of and fell to the ground. Winter regained her sense of direction and leapt to her feet, placing a gravity glyph behind Glynda. She pulled the small rapier out of her larger sword and exchanged blows. Glynda would block the larger sword, only to be hit by the smaller, until finally Winter lined her up, kicking Glynda in the torso. Glynda flew through the glyph and back into the crater, landing in a heap. Winter quickly moved to Nebula, picking her up, but when she turned around she was greeted by Yatsuhashi and Octavia.

"Winter, can you get out of there?" Coco asked in her ear. Winter weighed her options.

"I'm working on it. Whatever turns them into angels gives their aura a really short recovery time. I could get out alone, but I can't leave Nebula here." Winter set Nebula down and created an ice barrier over her. Octavia moved in, swiping at Winter several times, the waves of fire Dust just missing her as she evaded backwards. Winter formed several platforms of glyphs, launching herself in the air until she was at least 30 feet in the air, perched above and assessing her enemies. Yatsuhashi crouched and placed his sword flat above him, allowing Octavia to leap on. He leapt into the air and launched Octavia higher. The girl sliced through Winter's glyph with her fire attack, catching Winter off guard, and spun on the way back down, a barrage of fire energy slamming into Winter with no end. Before she hit the ground she was swatted away by Yatsuhashi and she slid into the crater, tumbling in and coming to a rest at the bottom.

Winter found her hands and knees and slowly pushed herself up, feeling that her aura was running low. She had never had this much of a struggle fighting _anyone_ before. She felt the chain wrap around her and sliced through it with her sword. She turned to face her attacker but Emerald was nowhere to be found. Winter felt Emerald's blades hook over her shoulders from behind and pull her to the ground. She lay there as she saw Yatsuhashi coming down at her from high in the air. She sliced her sword up through the clone of Emerald and rolled out of the way, placing a barrier of gravity glyphs around the spot she had just been. Winter leapt out of the impact zone as the real Emerald became visible and was thrown to the ground in Winter's spot and Yatsuhashi's blade impaled her. Emerald groaned, the dark green in her eyes fading as they returned to normal, her veins no longer glowing a faint green color. She coughed up blood, Yatsu's chest heaving as he stood over her.

The dark, greenish, shadowy energy that had filled Emerald poured out and scattered thinner and thinner into the air until it dissipated.

"You're with Nightshade?" Emerald managed to groan. Yatsu shoved the blade in further, knowing that Emerald meant to reveal their secret.

"Silence her!" Demanded Glynda. Winter sliced through the air, a wave of energy crashing into Yatsu and throwing him away as Winter slowly made her way to Emerald, her energy all but gone and anything more than a glancing blow would more than likely kill her. She moved to Emerald.

"Yes. What is it?" She asked. She coughed again, more blood spewing from her mouth. Emerald grabbed her arm and pulled her close, causing Winter to lose balance and come to a stop next to Emerald on her knees.

"You have to stop Her." Emerald moaned. Winter didn't understand. _Who? Stop who?!_

"My sister?" Winter asked, frantic for an answer that might give them the upper hand.

"Stop Her…" Emerald drew her last breath and with that her body drifted apart into thousands of light green butterflies that scattered and flew into the darkness of the night sky. Winter sat back, pondering what had been told to her, but it hadn't been enough information that she could call it a substantial breakthrough. Winter slowly managed to crawl out of the crater, doubling over in pain when she reached the top. She passed out and embraced the darkness. Glynda approached her.

"Do we take her too?" asked Yatsuhashi carrying Nebula. Glynda shook her head and headed back towards Vale where their extraction point was.

"No, we have specific instructions that we are not allowed to kill or alter Winter in anyway," Glynda told him. Glynda pushed Winter and she slid back down to the bottom of the crater, resting near Yatsu's sword. Glynda pulled it out of the ground telekinetically and returned it to him. "Let's go." Winter lay there in darkness, the closest to death she had ever been. Her mind filled with images of pushing her sister to the breaking point every time they trained, and she wondered if in the process of wanting Weiss to be the best Huntress to ever protect Atlas and the rest of Remnant, she caused Weiss to become the monster she was now. Her mind was still intact, she could hear Coco panicking on the other end of the radio, but she was unable to respond.

* * *

"They took Nebula! Winter's still there! As soon as the guys get back with Neo I'll send another team to fetch Winter!" Coco shouted, explaining herself to Blake. Blake stood, face dark and jaw quivering, and she slammed her fist onto Coco's desk.

"We need to stop these recon missions!" Blake demanded. Coco's eyes grew wide, and she felt a slight disdain in Blake's tone, knowing what she was suggesting. "You can live your pipe dream of thinking that Velvet might still be alive out there somewhere, but until we have solid information about her whereabouts, these need to stop!" Coco followed her out of the room.

"How do you propose we get that intel? Huh Blake?" Coco raised her voice, but tried to avoid losing her temper. Coco reached her hand out to grab Blake's arm, but Blake stepped away, Coco's grip breaking the clone. She stood in shock for a moment, looking at her hand before looking up at Blake who had stopped. Blake's face was bright red, and she planted her feet, both hands balled into fists at her sides.

"You don't see me sending them out to be slaughtered for the sake of finding Yang!" Blake replied. They both looked at each other, as did the members piling into the hall from their rooms. It was the first time that Blake had gone off the handle before Coco. Coco lowered her voice, grabbing Blake by the shoulders.

"If you had the chance to bring back Yang, you wouldn't hesitate. That's all I'm asking for with Velv." Tears filled Blake's eyes as she shoved Coco back. Seeing Blake like that effected Coco too, her lower lip quivering.

"You are completely right. But who are you and I to ask any of them to sacrifice themselves for the sake of finding Yang or Velvet? Who are we to determine that the loss of their lives is justified, as long as we're able to bring back who _we_ love? What makes their lives less valuable than the ones that we found valuable? I hate to say it out loud Coco, and you can be as pissed off all you want, but you and I have no right to ask these people to give their lives for us. That's what I believe." Blake began to walk away but froze in her tracks as Coco replied.

"I don't like it either, but okay." Coco's voice was quiet and hard to hear at first, but she had agreed. Blake knew that this had to be Ruby's doing somehow. This was Ruby's true power. It was the ability to bring people together in a way that nothing else could. Blake nodded back at her, thanking her. "What about raids and patrols?" Blake turned back to her.

"We still need to stop Weiss and save Remnant, don't we?" Coco smiled slightly and nodded, heading back into her situation room to arrange Winter's pick up. Despite a feeling of relief as far as Coco was concerned, Blake headed off to bed, knowing that the loss of another teammate would plague both her and Coco's nightmares. Ruby watched as the two women headed back to their rooms. She was powerless to help either of them, but she still had hope. She felt that deep down inside, despite the odds, they could still defeat whoever was controlling Weiss and bring her back home. Ruby needed her and after seeing how hard everyone else was trying, Ruby knew that the rest of them needed her too. Ruby stayed out in the hallway until the team returned.

"Hey Sun," Ruby called out as they came down the stairs. Sun, Sage, Scarlet, and Neo all stood in the hall with her.

"Hey Ruby," He replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Guessed we failed pretty good, didn't we?"

"You had to try something after you were attacked. I think you did a fine job out there," Ruby told them trying to be reassuring. Sage shrugged and Scarlet left, heading back out to the ship to help pick up Winter. Neo walked with her head hung low, stopping at Ruby and throwing her arms around her. "Neo? Hey, it's going to be okay Neo. We'll just get her back the next time they attack with the Fallen Angels. Right?!" Ruby could hear Neo silently sobbing and Ruby wrapped her arms around her. She looked at Sun.

"Neo, let Ruby go," Sun said lightly pulling on Neo's arm. Neo snatched her arm away violently and gripped harder to Ruby.

"No, she's okay," Ruby told him. "What's going on that has her so upset?" Sun looked at Neo who looked back at him and nodded, her eyes wet and red.

"She enjoys going on missions cause she's a fighter at heart, but if there was anyone who was closer to Yang that wasn't romantically involved with her, it was Neo," Sun explained.

"I wonder what made them so close." Ruby told him. Sage waved at them and headed to the bathroom to bandage himself and take a shower.

"I don't know that we'll ever find out without hearing it from Yang, but Neo is as determined to find Yang as Coco is to find Velvet. Hell, I'd almost be willing to bet that she's as desperate as Blake is." Neo looked up at Ruby, trying to smile and she sniffed, wiping her nose. She disappeared and left Sun and Ruby in the hall. "I hope we can rescue them all." Ruby smiled thoughtfully, determined as ever.

"We will Sun, we will."

* * *

Things still look dark for our heroes, but as we all know, RWBY has never been a fairy tale. Next week we'll step through the looking glass and find out what made Alice such a mad hatter... I regret nothing. Chapter 13 - Happiness and Pain!

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	17. Chapter 13 - Happiness and Pain

Alice was slightly shocked as the door to the elevator slid open and at the end of her hallway stood Jade, knocking on the mirror lightly, waiting to be let in. Alice walked down the hallway, her heels clicking with every step, getting louder and louder, to the point that it felt like they rivaled thunder in volume. She reached Jade who was looking herself over in the mirror. She cleared her throat and Jade turned slowly to face her, a coy smile plastered on her mouth.

"Well that would explain why you weren't coming to the door," Jade joked. Alice was not in a laughing mood and she shoved past Jade, pushing the door open. "This isn't a social call."

"Good," Alice replied. "To be honest with you Jade, I'm not very social. Also, you must have had trouble sleeping last night if you beat me getting here this morning."

"I want to see your cloning chamber," Jade told her. The words hung in the still air between them for a moment before Alice turned around to look at Jade. Jade had never had any interest in knowing how the process worked, but something seemed a little off with Jade to begin with this morning. Perhaps a change of plans?

"Why? Why now do you want to see it after all this time?" asked Alice.

"I've taken a sudden interest. An idea that has the potential to give us the strength to surpass Salem." Alice chuckled, before it grew into a full laugh and she closed the mirror behind her. It was the start of third full day since Nightshade had managed to get Ruby back, and Alice wondered if Jade was worried that they'd be found out.

"Surpass Salem? You are ambitious, aren't you Jade?" Jade gave her a stern look.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Jade asked. Alice's laughter stopped instantly and she looked hard at Jade.

"You're serious? You think that this idea is going to let you defeat Salem?!" Alice asked.

"Are you going to help?" Jade asked again. Alice chuckled again and moved past Jade, back out of her office and closing the mirror again once Jade exited. Alice headed back down the hall for the elevator and Jade followed.

"For the sake of seeing you fail? Of course!" Alice exclaimed. Jade shook her head, unamused with Alice's excitement. They both stepped into the elevator and the door closed behind them. Alice knocked twice on the back panel and it slid open, revealing a room that even Jade was unaware of. They stepped off into a cold, sterile, poorly lit hallway that curved slightly at the end. Alice guided Jade to a side room where they both put on hazmat suits and proceeded through large plastic flaps, similar to those found in an industrial freezer. "In order for you to understand the whole process, I'll start here at the beginning." They exited into large round room, divided into sections. In the middle was a small pedestal with a vial loaded into it, the cap just sticking out of the top. They entered the center section and Alice slowly pulled it out, showing it to her.

"What is it?" Jade asked her.

"This is the first Velvet's blood. The device that I created revolutionizes DNA reading and writing abilities. This vial is the original. The computer takes the information and tries to write it as fast as the DNA can throw it at us. The early clones were a catastrophe, but aside from the purposeful skin pigment differential, we are on the cusp of making a perfect replica." Alice explained this to Jade, all the while, staring at the vial, as though it had her in some sort of trance. "And if we wanted, we could make her better."

"Better how?" Asked Jade.

"Thanks to the information that Salem gave us, soon we can give the new clone any semblance or aura that we wanted to. Imagine a specialized army, all genetically programmed to do whatever their master tells them to do. Was Joseph alright after his run in yesterday?" Alice moved to the next room but Jade stayed behind a moment, confused.

"Yes, he was. Why do you care?" Jade asked.

"If you're going to pretend to be interested in my line of work, I can at least _pretend_ to be interested in what you're up to." Jade shook her head. "Moving on though, I'll move you rapidly through here as it can be quite gruesome, but essential we take parts of Velvet's skin, just a little bit each time, for a skin graft. It assists in making a new body. We also absorb some of her aura and give it to the rabbits as well."

"Is Velvet here then? In the building somewhere?" Jade asked. Alice laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous, I would never keep something so precious in harm's way. She's safe." They entered the next room, which looked the same as any other in the building. They took off the hazmat suits and entered the next room, which was a hallway with a window on one side for viewing the dissecting of the deceased rabbits. Alice smiled as Jade covered her mouth, trying to keep it in. Jade gagged and Alice stared longingly through the window as they pulled the dead clones apart.

"This room-" Alice began. Jade dry heaved and Alice let out a chuckle.

"You win! You are far-" She wretched. "Far more evil. Let's just keep moving!" Jade ran through the door, inhaling and exhaling rapidly as Alice followed behind her. She collapsed onto her hands and knees. "What in the hell… What is wrong with you!?"

"Are you asking because you want an answer or-"

"Rhetorical Alice. Rhetorical. Couldn't you smell that?" Alice shrugged.

"An occupational hazard of sorts I suppose. I've grown quite fond of the smell. It's a smell that can only be described as innovation and discovery." Alice explained.

"You really are a psychopath," Jade muttered under her breath. Jade stood back up and noted that the room was lined in pods similar to the drop pods she sent her angels out in. They had a small window so you could see the person's face, but these ones were filled with a cryo-type liquid.

"Every week we grow 30 new clones, and every week we kill 30 that have outlived their use or are too far from the original. We dissect them and input the information, and the computer eliminates that coding. It's like we have a puzzle and we don't know what the last piece looks like. Every piece that doesn't fit and makes the puzzle look worse, we eliminate completely. Then we have less chances of being wrong the next time," Alice explained. They continued on their way, which took them down a tunnel, leading them outside the mountain. Alice led Jade down an old dirt path that was grown over and at the end was a cabin. It looked mostly untouched, ivy and other growing plants consumed and hid the building well. "This is where my dream of making the perfect clone began. This is the reason that I do it."

"Is this where your demon lives?" Jade asked. Alice looked at her, head tilted, slightly confused by the question.

"My demon?" She asked Jade. They headed back up the path.

"That thing or person from your past that you'll never escape. Not in any way that matters," Jade explained. Alice thought it over and nodded.

"Then no. That is where my demon will die."

* * *

Alice Landis stepped off of the city bus in her light blue sundress and looked back at all of the people, waving to them as the bus drove away. They were a friendly bunch, and even if they hadn't been, today Alice would have treated them just the same. She had dreamed of this moment for so long, and when it had happened, she was taken by complete and total surprise. Her boyfriend of 4 years had finally proposed to her on her 18th birthday, and it was everything that she dreamed it would be. She looked down at the ring again in awe and ran down the path, arms spread wide. She wanted to sing, dance, and hug everything that she came in contact with! A white bunny hopped onto the path and she whisked it up in her arms quickly, holding it carefully. It twitched.

"Don't twitch little rabbit, mother will protect you." She said smiling at it and rubbing noses with it. She set it back down and it hopped off. She continued down the long dirt road, it was about three miles from the closest bus stop to her house, but she didn't mind the walk. It took a lot of bad things off of her mind and filled it with the most pleasant thoughts. She stopped at the pond for a moment and looked into it, gazing at her reflection. "Mr. and Mrs. Jack Hart!" She could hardly contain her excitement. Her tone changed drastically as she entered the gate to her yard, her mother sat out on the porch watching her.

"How was training today?" Her mother asked as she walked up the porch to the small farm house. She sat down on the bench beside her mother and removed her rod, flicking it out into the axe.

"It went well!" Alice told her with confidence in her voice. Her mother looked at her for a long moment before offering a warm smile, or trying to at least.

"Good. I should hope so. One day those skills will come in handy, especially when you take over the company." Alice laughed and her mother cocked her head, raising her eyebrow. "What is so funny Alice?"

"It's nothing mother. I could never imagine myself doing what you do. I really have no interest and even if I did, I would never be as good as you, 'The Queen of Cloning'. You outsource your work to militaries and other private mercenary groups, waiting for the right person to make a bid, but it's a questionable business at best." Her mother stood slowly, looming over her.

"Are you mocking me?" Her mother asked.

"Oh no mother. I think people should do what makes them happy. I would never-" Alice was abruptly interrupted as her mother slapped her across the face, sending her tumbling off of the bench. Alice felt her face, it stung. She looked up at her mother, sadness filling her lungs as she took a sharp breath in.

"Alice, you said it's questionable at best. Where would you have gotten such a notion from?" Her mother asked her, still towering above her as she sat back on the bench and transformed her axe back into a rod.

"People talk about it when they see me. They know that I'm your daughter. Not everyone agrees with what you do mother, but not everyone has to. Whatever makes you happy, right?" Alice asked her standing up and pushing past her into the house. Her mother followed her into the house and into the bathroom where Alice washed up in the sink.

"You haven't been seeing that Jack again have you? I don't care for him dear, he doesn't have your best interests in mind," her mother told her leaning against the door. Alice washed her hands, covering her left hand with her right as she scrubbed.

"I think that you've got him all wrong. He simply doesn't want me to get hurt, that's all. However, I haven't seen him in a while, no. You can rest easy." Alice finished drying her hands and kissed her mother on the head, taking off and heading up stairs.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour!" Her mother called out.

"Alright!"

"I graduated beacon last spring! I'm just grateful that you're willing to give me some work as an intern! I don't mind taking calls, fetching coffee, and all that! Anything that you need Headmaster Ozpin, just let me know!" Alice told him as they exited the room. She bounced lightly up and down on her feet, excitement had come over her. "Thank you!"

"It's quite alright Alice, though I always thought you'd go on to be a great huntress. Not that there's anything wrong with this, as long as it makes you happy," he told her. He winked at her and took a sip of his coffee, heading back towards the elevator. "Be here tomorrow for student registration. I have to warn you, it can get kind of crazy around here."

"I remember!" She called back to him laughing. She looked down at her ring. "I did it Jack!" She took off out of the doors and leapt onto one of the airships that would take her back down to Vale. The ship dropped her off at the port and she ran through the city, heading for the Dust shop that Jack worked at. He would be off in a few minutes and he'd be able to walk her back to the bus stop and they could talk for a while. She was giddy over the idea and threw open the door of the Dust shop, ready to tell him everything about the morning. There was nobody there though and she slowly stepped in. "Jack?"

"I don't think there's anyone by the name of Jack here," replied a voice. Three White Fang members stepped out of the back room, each of them holding a iron pipe in their hand. "Move along lady, we don't want you getting hurt." She took a step back, removing her rod, which she had tucked in her belt behind her. The Faunus laughed.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You think you can take the three of us with that little thing?" Alice smiled as she slowly faded away. The three men turned, looking around them frantically. She appeared behind the man that had been on her right, breaking his neck and dropping him. The next closest Faunus swung his pipe and she batted it away with her baton, transforming it into its axe form and swinging it up under him, nailing him in the balls and dropping him to his knees. She planted her left foot and kicked him in the head with her right. The last Faunus looked at his teammates and trembled.

"I would leave if I were you," she told him. The Faunus took off out the door and kept running as Alice went into the back room to find that there was no one there, they were simply vandalizing the place. Alice turned around to leave, Jack was standing in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. His red hair a mess and his suit mussed up.

"Did I forget to lock the door when I left?" He asked. She laughed under her breath.

"Are those for me?" She asked. He looked at them and then back at her, smiling and nodding.

"I wanted to have something to congratulate you by the time you got here."

"It couldn't have waited 5 minutes?" She asked.

"You would have been here already." He laughed with her and they kissed. The door opened behind him and he turned to greet the customer. Before he could move his eyes widened, and he fell onto Alice. She tried to catch him, shocked by the sudden collapse, and he fell to the floor at her feet, a long dagger in his back and through his ribs. "Alice…" Alice knelt down, pulling Jack into her arms, rocking him and feeling the tears filling her eyes quickly.

"Jack. Stay with me. Jack. Please!" She could hear him gasp, and she knew that his lung had been punctured. Her only hope was calling for help. She looked up, and her body locked up in shock. Her mother stood in the door, wiping her hands off with a cloth and dropping it onto Jack. Alice slowly found her feet, knees shaking as she finally managed to stand. "Mother..."

"I told you Alice. I told you that he was no good for you, but you just refused to listen to your mother," She said as she turned to leave. Alice looked down at the body and stepped over it, running out into the street after her mother.

"You told me to do what made me happy!" Alice screamed at her mother. Her mother stopped, several feet away now, and turned back. "He made me happy!"

"You mistook me my dear. You should do what keeps you safe! Eventually what keeps you safe will become the thing that makes you happy." Alice felt her rage boiling inside of her, she had never been this angry before.

"You told me that being happy is what mattered!" In two quick steps, her mother was in front of her, and slapped her face again, sending her to the ground. Alice grunted, catching herself with her hands, scraping them on the asphalt. The pain on her body was unnoticable compared to her emotional distress.

"I hoped that something else would make you happy! You shouldn't let people be your happiness! You'll give birth to a wretched child, an ungrateful brat, and he will leave you! Just like your father left us!" Alice shook, the realization setting in.

"You're saying that I'm why father left?" Alice asked. Her body heaved as she felt her lungs constricting. She shook her head in disbelief. "You told me he died battling Grimm!" Alice's mind turned to a dark place and a weight was lifted off of her. This woman was not her mother. Her mother would have loved her, and protected her and wanted the best for her. This woman had never wanted that once. "You killed him didn't you?"

"Pain should be repaid with pain. I protected us both by killing your father, and by killing Jack." Alice stood, a darkness filled her once happy eyes and a disturbing grin forced its way onto her mouth. Her hand grabbed her rod behind her back. "You should be grateful to me."

"Because you wanted me to protect you! That's why you did all this, why you did everything?! You're a coward, but I guess we can agree on one thing." Alice disappeared and her mother raised her eyebrow. Alice reappeared as her blade sliced clean through her mother's neck. "Pain should be repaid with pain." The life left her mother's eyes and the woman dissolved into pink embers that floated about and were whisked away by the wind. Alice stood, feeling her eyelids and removing her hand to examine her finger. It wasn't wet. There were no tears.

 _My name is Alice Landis. If you're reading this, you've found my personal notes that I kept while I was locked up in The Atlesian Mental Health Facility._

Alice went back into the building and picked up Jack, carrying him in her arms out into the street and she headed for the port. She could feel people watching her and running in panic as she made her way down the street.

 _I'm not sure really about who I am anymore. I spend my days carrying on the work of my mother. It really makes me no better than her, but I have to try. I have to find a way to bring him back from death. If I can just find enough funding, anything should be possible._

She could hear the sirens, but it wasn't going to stop her. As she reached the dock she vanished, stealing a small boat, deciding to ride to Forever Fall and head far into the woods to hide his body.

 _The more I research, the more I realize how difficult it will be. I'll need a test subject. I won't be able to clone his cadaver more than once, so perfecting the process before hand is going to be key._

She had left the body in the cabin, burying it deep in the buildings old dirt floor. She would return for it later. As she arrived back at her home, she gave herself up to the police.

 _It would seem that I'll also need an artificial aura. I don't know that this has ever been done before, or can be done, but I have to try. I can't let such minor things stop me from bringing Jack back. This is most likely my last entry, seeing as I'm being allowed to leave next week for good behavior. I've seen on the television that the Schnee Dust Company has a peacekeeping force with openings available. If anyone has the money I need, it's the Schnees. There is one thing I have realized in my 6 years here._

"Why did you do it," asked the cop as he cuffed her and threw her into the back of the patrol car. Alice showed no emotion as they closed the door and she looked up at him through the window.

"She took away my happiness."

 _This path that I've been lead down, only gets curiouser and curiouser._

* * *

"I meant to ask you before Jade, what is this plan that you've come up with that is going to help you best Salem?" Alice asked as they returned to her office. Alice sat behind her desk and turned on her computer as Jade handed her a vial of blood. "What's this then?"

"It's my own. Take whatever else you need, but when we finally summon Salem, I want you to have the most perfect clone of myself possible. The best you can do in a week, two weeks tops." Alice looked at the vial and then back at Jade, rubbing her forehead slightly as she went over everything in her mind.

"You understand why none of this is going to work right? Even if I could make you the perfect clone, when we place the new aura in you, you'll lose your old one for good. That means your semblance too. We can't use that Dust storage concoction that you came up with because concentrating enough Dust and safety combining it took far too much time the first time. We don't have the time or ingredients to do it again." Jade placed a file on the desk and pushed it to Alice. She opened it. "Where did you get this?"

"The twins and I took a trip to the classified area of Atlas Academy before we started posing as a security detail. With this we can give Salem the clone's body, use my venom on her, and transfer my aura and semblance into her," Jade explained, impressed with herself for coming up with such a plan.

"You do realize that this has never been used successfully, right? The only time someone tried using it, they ended up with an arrow in their chest. Actually, both of the participants ended up with an arrow in their chest," Alice reminded her. Jade stood up, taking her file, and began to walk away.

"I knew you couldn't do it, thanks anyways," Jade offered as she opened the mirror.

"Wait." Jade stopped in the doorway, a smile on her face. "I'll do it."

"Excellent."

* * *

So Alice is possibly the most demented out of the group, and I'd hate to see what would happen if Coco finds out about Bun Bun. Next week, as is the pattern, we'll head back to Nightshade as they fight another one of those Grimm / Faunus creatures, make a new ally, and reunite with an old friend in Chapter 14 - Ash and Flames!

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	18. Chapter 14 - Ash and Flames

"All of my hard work the last couple days has paid off," Ruby leapt up and down excited as she followed Reese and Neptune down a back alley, embracing Crescent Rose as though she were hugging a child. "I have my scythe back and I have most of my uniform back. I wish I had my cape, but I guess it's not a big deal. Blake said I'd be more conspicuous this way."

"I think you mean inconspicuous," Reese corrected her, slowly hovering in front of them.

"Yeah! Inconspicuous!" Ruby agreed as she spun slowly in a circle to make sure no one was following them. "So what do you guys do for fun during these night patrols? Can we play I Spy?!" Reese gave a chuckle.

"Nah," Reese replied as she drifted around the corner. "Normally we just walk around for awhile, and stop any Raven's Claw activity that we might run into." Neptune rounded the corner behind her, and hit his shin on her board. She had stopped.

"Hey, what gives?" He demanded. Reese pointed down the block as Ruby caught up. They watched as several Raven's Claw members entered the nightclub. She placed her hand on Neptune's shoulder to get a better view and he jumped, flailing around and falling to the ground.

"You okay?" Ruby asked him. "Didn't mean to scare you." She snickered as she pulled him up to his feet.

"I wasn't scared! That was just… a new dance more I've been working on." He replied brushing himself off.

"Well, if that's the case, you'll have some time tonight," Reese told him pointing to the building. "We're going in after them."

"Oh come on! I don't want to go in there again!" Neptune griped.

"Again?" Ruby asked.

"Yang dragged me in there. I'd rather not talk about it." Neptune answered. As they moved towards their destination, their comms units came alive.

"Is this thing on?" Blake's voice filled their ears.

"It sure is! What's up?" Ruby replied.

"Qrow sent me a message saying that he wants us to meet up with his informant and bring her back to base. Raven's Claw has finally sniffed her out and they plan on taking her out in the next day or so. Think of it as an escort mission," Blake instructed them.

"How will we know who she is?" Ruby asked.

"That's what I wondered, but Qrow replied to that by saying 'Oh, you'll know.'" Blake left them in silence and they continued towards the night club. They arrived to find that the bouncer had been taken out by Raven's Claw. Neptune felt for a pulse, shaking his head, and they entered the nightclub, placing their weapons on their backs. The bass vibrated through them and the music made it difficult to hear each other.

"Are we looking for the informant here?" Ruby asked. People ran across the dance floor and out of the building past the team.

"I think she'll come to us. Let's get rid of these losers though!" Reese yelled back over the noise. One of the men in a Raven's Claw outfit pointed towards them.

"Nightshade!" He yelled. An army of Raven's Claw members poured down into the dance floor from upstairs, most of them wielding guns, while others wielded weapons suited for close combat. Ruby pulled Reese's board off of her back and threw it onto the floor, pulling Reese backwards onto it.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" She asked. Ruby leapt on with her and extended her scythe.

"Ride." Reese took off through the crowd, Ruby gathering the men under the curve of her scythe's blade, occasionally firing, slicing right through the men. "Awesome!" Neptune held his own, back in the middle of the dance floor, fending them off with his trident.

"I hate to ruin the party, but something big is heading for the club, and fast," came Coco over their earpieces.

"We can take it!" Ruby shouted. The beast smashed through the wall, standing slightly taller than a Beringel, and it was clearly half Faunus and half Grimm. "What is that thing?!"

"It's one of those," Coco said out loud to herself.

"One of what?" Asked Ruby again. It smashed its fist and Reese rode around it, narrowly avoiding being smashed.

"We fought one of those during your wedding," Coco told her. Neptune knocked away the men around him, who also seemed terrified by the beast as they scattered. It roared and stepped into the building, crouching to fit. It stood up, frustrated, and smashed through the rough, raining bits of debris into the room and smashing the lighting. The moon poorly illuminated the room seeing as it was positioned behind the beast, and it swung for Neptune who was firing at it. Ruby used her semblance to dash to Neptune, tackling him out of the way. "No sense in fighting it, our mission was to stop Raven's Claw. This thing stopped them for us."

"What if it heads back into the city?" asked Reese. Coco sighed.

"Fine, but for the love of The Maidens be careful or Blake's going to have my head," Coco begged them.

"Nah. I'd just take your glasses," Blake replied. Ruby stood up and fired at it, the bullets slamming into its head and it stumbled back and out of the building. It roared, angered by the shots, and reached down behind it, picking up a car and throwing it at the group. Reese rode in front of it, leaping off and slicing her board through the car. It landed on both sides of the team, and only seemed to make the creature even angrier.

"Look out!" Neptune shouted pointing to the roof of the building to their right. "An Ursa!" The Ursa leapt off of the building high into the air and landed on the creature's shoulders, hanging on for dear life as the monster frantically tried to reach back and get rid of it.

"Aku! Be careful up there!" yelled a young, small voice from behind them. They all turned to see a girl the same height as Neo, with messy, dark orange, shoulder length hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a black tank top with _Ninjas of Love_ written in a bloody looking font that was burnt orange and matched her hair. Her look was completed with a pair of dark grey sweatpants and black sneakers. She had a red metallic tonfa with a black and orange handle attached on each side of her hips.

"Who are you?!" asked Ruby. The girl acknowledged Ruby, gasping and putting her hands over her mouth, leaping up and down.

"You're Ruby Rose! Ahhhhhhh! It's an honor to meet you! You're a hero! Forgive me for sneaking up on you! I must sound like an idiot! Get it together Ash… Look at you! I can't believe this!" Ash freaked out. She reached out and touched Ruby's arm. "You're real! They said you died, but here you are! Qrow never mentioned this!"

"You know my uncle?" Ruby asked.

"This must be his contact," Reese added.

"Did you call that Ursa by a name?" Neptune asked.

"Yeah, Aku. That's his name." Ash told them. She stepped past them to the front edge of the building where the wall had been. Aku was still holding on with one claw and furiously attacking with the other. "Hey Aku!" He peaked out around the Grimm Faunus.

"Erhhhhh?" It replied as it trying to speak.

"Come down here and we can all play together!" She yelled up to him.

"Erhhhhh." He leapt over its shoulder and landed in front of them, looming over Ash as she turned around.

"Now for a proper introduction. My name is Ashley Rainier, feel free to call me Ash for short. I attended Signal Academy and learned from Ruby's father and Qrow. This is Aku the Ursa, and he's with me. He likes hugs." She looked back up at him giving him a thumbs up and he grinned at her, nodding.

"Ehhuh." Aku agreed.

"Look out!" Shouted Reese pointing. Aku leapt onto Ash and rolled out of the way, just missing being smashed by the beast. She popped out as Aku leapt back to his feet, turning to face the Grimm and she climbed up Aku's back.

"Ready Aku?!" He growled. "I have a plan. Ruby, Reese, get on the board again."

"What about me?" Asked Neptune. Ash threw him gravity Dust.

"Load it into your gun." Neptune slammed it in and put on his goggles. "You two ready?"

"Yeah!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Let's do it!" Reese shouted. Aku picked up the board and threw it at the beast.

"Fire at the board!" Ash yelled as Neptune. He fired at the board, giving it an extra boost of speed and keeping it in the air longer. Reese spun her board twice, on the second revolution Ruby leapt off and formed Crescent Rose into a curved spear, using her semblance to assist her and slammed a hole straight through the Grimm's chest. It stumbled for a moment and Ruby landed on the ground, gripping her weapon and watching the beast in victory. Slowly the Grimm's chest began to heal and the hole closed. "What is this thing?"

"Blake!" Coco's voice yelled. "Alert Qrow! This thing might be unstoppable." Ash shook her head.

"Qrow's up to something top secret. He won't pick up." Ash answered Coco. They all paused for a moment.

"We never gave you an earpiece," Reese said as she rode around the beast, sweeping by Ruby to pick her up.

"What, you think that Nightshade is the only group of people who have ever hacked into a radio frequency before?" She asked them.

"Any ideas, smartass?" Coco asked, unamused with the girl.

"I have a few." Ash stood on Aku's back as he ran for the creature and grabbed the tonfas, slamming one into the back of the other. She held the new handle in front of her and shot fire into the air as they rode underneath it, threw its legs.

"The tonfas double as a flame thrower," Reese said out loud trying to comprehend it.

"Neat!" Ruby exclaimed. "Ride by its legs!" Reese nodded and rode past as Ruby hooked it and fired, pulling it out from under the Grimm. He fell over, toppling into the building to its right. Reese and Ruby changed course and rode back for the beast as Ash and Aku ran up its body from its feet, up to its torso. Ash leapt off and detached the flamethrower, having them become normal tonfas again and she beat on its chest.

"It's gonna give up!" Ash yelled. "Any minute now!" Reese shook her head. Ash looked back at Neptune. "Keep shooting at its face and keep it distracted from standing!"

"What was Qrow thinking?" Reese asked. Ruby leapt off and landed beside Ash.

"Grab Neptune and we can be ready to get out of here," Ruby called out to Reese.

"You got it!" Reese replied. Ruby looked over at Ash, who was still beating savagely on its chest beside Aku who did the same.

"Any ideas?" Ruby asked.

"Can you do the silver eye thing?" Ash asked, stopping and looking at Ruby wide eyed for a fleeting second.

"It's not something I can control," Ruby explained. Ash stared at her for a moment, as if she hadn't understood what she'd been told, before continuing to beat the Grimm.

"Ohhhhhh." Ash leapt to her feet. "Well, that's not gonna work. Little known facts about Ursai, they have brute strength as noted here." Ash lifted the bottom of her tank top, revealing large scars down the length of her back. Ash held her hands out. "Can I hold Crescent Rose?" Ruby looked at it a moment before handing it over.

"It's pretty cool" said Ruby. Ash's eyes grew large and she examined every inch of it.

"It's amazing!" She grabbed Aku and slammed a gravity dust cartridge in it, resting it on its blade. "Back in a moment!" Ash fired the gun, launching both her and Aku into the air, she leapt over him as they hit their arc. "Now Aku!" He threw her down towards the beast and she threw Crescent Rose like a spear, sending it clean through the beast. She landed with Aku just behind her and rolled out of the way as Aku grabbed the wound and kept it pulled open, not allowing it to heal. Ash knelt on the edge of the beast's injury and formed her flamethrower, torching the inside of the beast.

"Wow." Ruby said as she watched Ash incinerate the Grimm. The flames poured out, setting the fur and skin ablaze and Aku grabbed Ruby and Ash and leapt off. The monster roared one last painful cry before dissipating into ash and smoke and scattering about. Crescent Rose fell to the ground with a loud metal clang.

"How did I do?" Ash asked. "Do I get to meet Blake now? And Yang?! What about Yang?!" Blake took out her earpiece and set it on Coco's desk. Coco looked up at her.

"You okay?" She asked. Blake nodded. It wasn't completely true, as she now had Yang in mind, but she'd be okay after she fell asleep.

"Just gonna get some shut eye. Great work tonight." Coco was silent for a moment.

"Thanks," Coco told Blake as she reached the door. She left the situation room and headed for bed.

Blake stepped out into the dark hallway, leaving her door open as opposed to risking someone hearing it shut as she left her room. Slowly and quietly, Blake made her way down the hall, a task that seemed to last forever, before she finally reached the stairs. She ascended, to find Sage and Dew at the top, keeping watch. She stepped into the small observation room with them, smiling at both of them as they turned back and acknowledged her.

"Hey guys, I have a once in a lifetime deal for the two of you," She told them.

"What is it?" asked Sage.

"I'll let the two of you go in and get some sleep and I'll stay up here and keep watch." Sage and Dew exchanged glances at each other and nodded.

"Thanks," Dew told Blake as they stood up and headed back into the bunker. Blake sat out in the room for a long half an hour, pondering over everything that had brought her to this point. She thought over the stupid war that Weiss had started, and the casualties, whether they had been accidental or not didn't matter. People had died, including Yang, and that's what made it hurt worse. Maybe things would have ended better if they had just joined Weiss in the beginning and hadn't fought it. Blake slowly stood and left to the woods above, the first snowflakes coming down as autumn was drawing to a close. It would be the beginning winter in the next few days, and things would get more difficult as they did every year. Blake walked slowly towards Mountain Glenn, her mind set.

She was going to surrender and end everyone's pain. She was sick about it day and night, her guilt constantly crushing her and placing the weight of the world on her heart. From there Nightshade could do as they pleased, but Blake was ready to give up, whether it meant dying, or helping Weiss. She trudged on in the moonlight, soon she would be at the base of the mountain and she would climb up, giving herself up and accepting her fate. The sky seemed so red. The wind howled through the woods, stirring memories of winters with the White Fang. A younger Blake ran past her and fell into a pile of snow.

"Adam, please!" The young Faunus pleaded as Adam reached her and dragged her to her feet by her arm.

"Why do you want to hurt me my love?" He asked her. He shoved her against a tree and traced the tip his sword along her jaw line. "Why do you want to run away from me, when all I ever did is protect you?" He shoved her harder and the real Blake winced as she watched the scene.

"I know you mean well… Or meant well, but you want to make both Humans and Faunus live under you in peace through total power! That's not actual peace, that's an illusion!" She yelled at him. He slapped her across the face and she fell to the ground. He dragged her back up again, and pinned her to the same tree.

"As long as I can have you and we get what we want, what does it matter?" He asked.

"It's not what I want," The Blakes both said in unison. Blake continued her walk towards Weiss's headquarters, leaving her memory behind her in the snow. The wind was picking up now and then and chilled Blake, she shivered as she trudged on. Blake watched as the forest slowly transformed around her into Vale, and a group of Raven's Claw ran by being chased by the Rose Petals. As Weiss ran by, Blake grabbed her. Weiss wrenched her arm away before she realized who she was looking at

"Weiss, please!" Blake pled. Her body shook as she set Gambol Shroud on the ground.

"Why are you hurting me like this Blake?" Weiss stomped closer, swinging Myrtenaster in her hand for emphasis. "When I lost Ruby, you know that I needed you and Yang! Why did you leave?" The scene faded, until Weiss and Blake were surrounded by darkness.

"I know you mean well Weiss." Blake began to cry, the tears struggling to escape her eyes at first, until they were able to fall freely. Blake's body shook from sobbing and she shook her head. "But there's more going on, isn't there? This isn't you. You're-" The Weiss that stood before her turned into a young Blake.

"You have to save her," young Blake told her older self. "Weiss isn't so different from us. She's misguided, but she thinks she's doing the right thing, just like we did." Young Blake disappeared and Blake stood in the middle of the woods alone again, her weapon in hand. She took off running towards the warehouse where they had found Ruby, a renewed strength and determination to save both Weiss and Yang filled her. Was Weiss being abused into cooperating? What if Weiss was just as scared and confused about what she should do next as Blake had been? The feeling didn't sit well with Blake and she ran a little faster.

She reached the warehouse to find that it had been leveled and searched around for any clue where to go next and was quickly answered, spotting a dull, but artificial light coming from the cliff side. Blake moved there to investigate, quickly navigating the dark tunnel as she heard a strange noise coming from inside. Blake squinted, noting that a large mass was moving towards her, and she quickly escaped out of the chasm the way she had come in. A large number of Boarbatusks and Beowolves were running out, as though they were looking for safety from whatever was chasing them.

"Blake?!" Came a voice that sounded weak. Blake found her feet as the fleeing Grimm made their way by and she saw her through the chaos. There stood Yang in the middle of the mass of creatures, her hair blowing in the cold, harsh wind and her clothes tattered. She had cuts up and down her left arm and across her face, her left eye was swollen as well. As a Boarbatusk came to close to Yang, Yang's eyes flared red and she smashed the monster's nose, slamming it head first into the ground and it bounced away until it disappeared. Blake darted through the last few Grimms, a Beowolf smashing through one of Blake's clones as Blake reached Yang. Blake grabbed her and pulled her in tight. Yang's eyes returned to normal and she struggled to stand for a moment.

"Yang! You're alive! I knew you were! I knew that Weiss wouldn't kill you!" Blake exclaimed as she held Yang as close as possible. She ran her hand through Yang's hair, and let it fall over her fingers as she soaked it all in.

"Careful babe," Yang told her, grunting in pain. "Behind you." Blake spun around to be face to face with a Beowolf and sliced through it, making quick work of the Grimm.

"How did you get out? What happened to you while you were in there?" Blake asked. Yang grinned through the pain as Blake helped her along back towards the bunker, she was in complete disbelief.

"I fought my way out!" Yang exclaimed weakly. "I was only able to use one arm though, they disabled the other one." Yang lifted her right arm with her upper arm before dropping the dead weight. It swung freely. Blake clung to Yang as she brought her back, her mind reeling but in a state of ecstasy. Her love had returned to her and she felt all of her panic and stress disappear. She smiled at Yang, kissing her on the cheek. A peaceful bliss filled Blake. Everything was right for once since the beginning of the war. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Ruby was alive this whole time! It looks like someone in Rose Petals faked her death and hid her away for some reason, but we don't have a solid lead on that yet," Blake told Yang.

"I wonder who it could be." Yang pondered out loud. "Anything else?"

"Qrow finally came back and lent us some much needed help, and Velvet was kidnapped! Did you see her at all while you were held captive?" Blake asked her. Yang shook her head and coughed.

"They kept me pretty secluded. I just wish I could have made it back to you sooner so that you wouldn't have had to think I was dead for so long," Yang exclaimed. Blake's mind drifted for a moment to that night, but it returned before it could get too far.

"Well I'm glad that you _were_ able to escape and I'm also glad that you aren't dead," Blake told her. "Was anyone following you?"

"That ram Faunus from the White Fang rally that we caught Adam at tried to pick a fight with me, but I showed him who was boss again. I can't wait to get in and see Ruby and everyone else!" Yang told her as they entered the bunker and headed down the stairs.

"Maybe you should wait until the morning, they all had-" Blake froze at the top of the steps and Yang stopped halfway down looking back up at her. Blake's body trembled. No… No it couldn't be…

"We can wait until morning babe! Let's head to bed!" Yang continued down as Blake tried to descend the stairs. Her body was heavy and fear filled her. The panic and stress returned, the tears filling her eyes once more. She stepped into her room with Yang and closed the door behind her.

"Yang, when we went looking for you, I found your robotic arm with the Ember Celica still attached." Blake pieced it together as Yang sat on the edge of the bed and pat the spot next to her with her hand. "This is a dream isn't it?"

"Is what a dream?" Yang asked as Blake sat next to her and they laid down together. Their faces were inches apart and Blake was filled with unbearable pain and sadness again. Blake buried her head in Yang's bosom, not ready to give her up.

"Just tell me if it is. I knew that it was just too good to be true." Yang held her tight and when Blake looked up at her again she nodded.

"I just wanted to be here for you for a little while and make sure that you're safe," Yang said. "I miss you Blake."

"I miss you too!" Blake sobbed. Yang kissed Blake lightly on the forehead as they tangled their bodies together. "I just want… I need you back Yang."

"I know Blake." She laid there, allowing Blake to hold her for a while. "Promise me. Promise that you won't give up and give in to Weiss. Weiss is simply a cover for whoever is actually doing all of this. She's in pain from Ruby's death still and is doing everything she can to get rid of it. She's dedicated herself to this cause, and no matter how many of you they insist she need to kidnap or kill, she'll do it. Just so that she can make sure that she can cope with the pain, even if it's wrong. She's afraid of losing Ruby's vision and ideology, which she had worked so hard to uphold." Blake slid up slightly under the sheets, so that she was face to face with Yang.

"Like my fear of leaving the White Fang. I wanted to make a difference and even though I hated that we resorted to violence, it was the best I could do to keep my dream a reality. Plus I knew that if I left, Adam would find me." Blake rolled onto her back and draped her arm across her midriff. Yang's arm wrapped under Blake and pulled her close, allowing Blake to rest her head on Yang's shoulder. "But if you're not real, why do you want me to promise you that I'll save her?"

"Because you need to make that promise to yourself." Blake tried to keep from crying again, but sometimes it was the only way she knew to fight off the pain. "You almost turned yourself in tonight. What would have happened to your friends?"

"I'm sorry Yang." Blake sobbed again, a wave of heat and comfort washed over her as Yang wrapped her up in her arms.

"You can do it Blake. I know that you can." They laid there for a long while after Blake was finished crying, and she slowly began to drift off. "I love you Blake."

"And I love you Yang."

* * *

Another enters the fray for Nightshade in the form of Ashley Rainier, our final OC. Will it be enough for them to show Weiss that what she's doing is wrong? When will Blake finally accept the fact that Yang might be gone? Should she accept the fact? Next week we'll glimpse at Jade's process for turning Nightshade's members against them in Chapter 15 - When Angels Fall!

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	19. Chapter 15 - When Angels Fall

"Welcome to hell," Jade said as she quickly removed the sack over Nebula's head and looked into her eyes, examining her. "If you aren't dead by the end of the day, you're gonna wish you were." Nebula tried to escape but her body was held in place by chains, keeping her bound to the wall.

"Who are you?" Nebula asked as she thrashed against the restraints. Jade chuckled, lightly slapping the girl's face and causing her to wince. She stepped away and opened a laptop on top of a small cart just a few feet from Nebula.

"Sadly, asking me questions isn't going to get you anywhere. So, you have two options. You can tell me where the Nightshade bunker is, or I can get it by other means. Of course, I have to warn you, the other means are far less pleasant than just telling me." Nebula jerked again.

"Like I'd tell you." Nebula scoffed. Jade smiled as she looked up from the computer, grabbing a handful of nodes and attaching a few to Nebula's head.

"Smart girl. I was going to torture you either way," Jade told her. She breathed on the ends of two more nodes. "I'm sorry about this, but these are gonna be a tad chilly." Jade reached down Nebula's shirt and attached them appropriately. The door swung open behind her and she turned back to see Joseph.

"Just in time I see," he told her closing the door.

"You'll have to forgive him, he's a bit of a pervert," Jade told Nebula. She grabbed the back of her head and moved in close, lips teasing lips. "But there's still a chance to tell me where the bunker is." Nebula jerked her head back and smashed her forehead into Jade's nose. Jade jerked back, grabbing her nose and laughing. "I like this one a lot!"

"I'm not telling you anything!" She spat at Jade. Jade stood and moved back to the computer, a vial of dark green liquid beside it.

"None of you have yet. I will say that I admire Nightshade's will power, but it's no use. All of you will be dead soon enough." Nebula's eyes became intense.

"What do you mean?" Nebula asked. Joseph grinned behind Jade as she filled a needle full of the liquid.

"Doesn't matter." Joseph held Nebula still while she struggled and Jade injected the contents into her neck. Jade stepped back, admiring her handy work and nodding to Joseph. "This is his favorite part."

"Oh yeah," Joseph agreed with a nod back at her. He turned and slowly punched Nebula with as much force as he could muster. She grunted with every hit.

"In order to become a Fallen Angel, I need to rough you up a bit. However, you'll be glad to know that this dose was an extra special batch that we made just for you." Jade sat and watched as Joseph wailed on the girl, every hit sounded worse than the last.

"Please!" Nebula begged. Joseph didn't stop though, and Jade made no indication of telling him to cease. Another hit, another hit, and another. She groaned and grunted, spitting up blood now as her body struggled to maintain her aura. "Please stop."

"Stop!" Jade demanded. Joseph stopped swinging and Jade moved to the girl, tracing her chin with her finger. "You don't like this? You want the pain to stop?" Jade quickly reached up, making quick work of her hands, and popped the girl's arm out of socket. Nebula cried out in pain and Jade smiled. "Come Joseph. We'll return later."

Nebula struggled against the chains for a long while after Jade and Joseph left, hoping for any give at all, but soon realized that it was no use, especially due to the pain that she currently felt in her abdomen from being beat by that brute. She turned quickly to her best option for getting rid of the pain being sleep, and she allowed herself to drift off, not yet deterred from the idea of escape, but well aware of her need to rest. She soon drifted off, and when she came to, there was a large commotion outside of the door as Octavia slammed through it. Nebula stirred quickly, eyes wide as her former teammate turned towards her. Panic overcame Nebula.

"Octavia! Please! Listen!" Nebula pled. Octavia sliced the chains off of her and helped her down to the ground. "Octavia?"

"Listen. Whatever that crazy snake woman used to put me under her control has worn off for a moment. I need to help you get out of here before she can get to you too. It's awful, and I can't bear the thought of you having to endure that much pain." Octavia grabbed her and ran out the door with her, to find that they were surrounded by volcanic rock and lava, the ground breaking apart and shifting. Octavia dragged Nebula along, running through the soot and ash, covering them both in a thick layer of black paste and grit. Nebula didn't understand what was happening.

"Where are we?" she asked, shouting over the sound of the lava that erupted from a chasm nearby. Octavia continued to run with Nebula barely keeping up behind her. "Octavia!" It was like she couldn't hear her. Nebula stopped and planted her feet, forcing Octavia to acknowledge her and stop. Octavia looked back at Nebula, a disturbing look on her face as she lightly tossed Nebula's weapon to her. Nebula looked it over and then back up at Octavia, who stood at the ready with her sword. The ground shook violently and they both stumbled. "What is going on?!"

"You always thought you were better than the rest of us didn't you? Just because you were named the leader of Team NDGO!" Octavia clashed her sword against Nebula's as she shouted, rage boiling up inside of her. Lava forced itself up in between the two of them and they both leapt back, Nebula still confused by everything that was going on around her.

"What are you talking about, I never once thought that!" Nebula shouted back. Octavia laughed in disbelief as she stumbled forward again, the earth shifting and trying to separate them. Octavia leapt over the opening earth and attacked again, putting Nebula on the defensive. Nebula slid back from the consistent barrage of swings and blasts from fire dust and slid back into one of the gorges, her body falling slowly through the warm air as she got closer and closer to the lava below. She fired a specialized bolt and swung to one of the rock walls, hoping to think of a way to climb out, but the earth slowly began to close, crushing her and leaving her in pain. Instantly the darkness was replaced with a cityscape and she was standing outside of a large sporting arena. Someone's fist crashed against her jaw and she bounced across the sidewalk, sliding to a stop as her body slammed into a traffic light pole.

She landed on her hands and feet and struggled to stand as her assailant neared her again. She blocked his first two swings with her sword, knocking him back with a bolt to his chest. She looked up to find that it was the same man from before that had beat her while she was shackled to the wall.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked. To be honest, she couldn't be sure. Everything was changing so quickly around her that she wasn't totally aware of what was happening.

"Help!" She called out to people passing by. He pulled the projectile out of his chest and threw it to the ground, chuckling at her.

"None of them can hear you. It's just you and me, and you're going to regret escaping," he told her. Joseph's cloak lit up, lightning Dust flaring and electric energy dancing off of him as he charged her. His fist slammed into her sword, sending a shock through the weapon and coursing it straight through her body. She was thrown to the ground, dropping her weapon as she could feel the electricity burning her skin. She screamed in pain and he lifted her by her hair, his shawl now lit with light blue stripes of ice Dust. He grabbed her arm and watched as the ice crept over her body, freezing her in place. "The question is how much your body can take." He activated the earth Dust, his hands turning to stone as he smashed through her body, shattering it to pieces. As her world shattered, she found herself stumbling across a barren desert. She planted her feet, sliding to a stop, her sword ready in front of her. Was she back in Vacuo?

"Hey Nebula!" A voice called from behind her. She turned around to see Dew running towards her, arms open wide and she embraced Nebula as she reached her.

"What's going on?" Nebula asked her. Dew tilted her head looking at her.

"What are you talking about? Nebula, is the heat getting to you? Do you need some water?" Dew asked. Nebula brushed her off, slowly turning in a circle as she looked at the endless desert.

"I was taken captive by this insane Faunus! Where did it all go? Then I was fighting Octavia!" Dew laughed as she grabbed Nebula's arm and tried to lead her along.

"The heat really is getting to you! Come on! We'll head back to Shade and get you some water and some medical attention!" Dew insisted. Nebula wrenched away from her. Dew looked at her, frowning and she lifted her weapon. "I didn't want it to be like this."

"Tell me what's going on?" asked Nebula.

"I was captured trying to come and save you last night. I'm one of them now. The woman, Jade, told me to do whatever I had to do to get you to join us." Dew started forming a small twister near Nebula. "Even if it means fighting you."

"Dew, stop! You can fight this!" Dew whisked Nebula away and she landed over the next dune on her feet. She took off sprinting away from her teammate, into the endless desert.

"We don't need to fight it. We need to accept it and join." Nebula looked back as she ran, Dew's voice had been in her ear. As she turned back to face forward, she ran right into Dew. Dew smacked her away with her spear. "You'll feel liberated by this power Nebula…"

"Stop it!" Nebula screamed to the sky. "Is this some sort of drug?! My friends would never act this way!" Nebula stopped yelling as Dew's spear ran through her and she came to a stop as she found herself pinned against a tree in a dense forest, thunder cracking across the sky. She looked down, Dew's spear gone.

"Careful, I wouldn't linger here too long, my students will more than likely tear you apart," Jade explained to her, leaning on a tree across from Nebula.

"I just want to know what's happening!" Nebula demanded. Jade frowned.

"I prefer that we kept it a secret for now," Jade said, placing a finger to her lips as she finished talking. "Shhhhh. Here they come." Jade disappeared and anger filled Nebula, turning her desperation into determination to escape this illusion. Two large, winged figures eclipsed the sky as it was lit with lightning, and shot straight for her. She met the axe of the first, holding her counter for a moment, before batting Ivory away. The second came in faster and immediately after Ivory, planting his hook into the tree and quickly flying around, attempting to chain her to it. She dove out of the way and Rowan saw it as he rounded the tree, pulling hard on his chain and slicing through the tree with the first hook. Nebula rolled out of the way of the tree and was batted off of her feet as she leapt up. Rowan loomed over her, his eyes filled with evil as he held the hooks high above his head. She shot three bolts into his chest, sending him staggering backwards. She leapt up and ran to attack him, only to meet the middle of Ivory's staff. Ivory looked at their two weapons and then back at the girl, smiling before she leapt and flapped her wings, kicking her axe with both feet, sending Nebula through the air.

She landed at least 10 feet away, a pain flaring through her body as she landed on her back. She found her feet as Rowan's hook dug deep into her back and she arched in pain, crying out. She reached back to try and wrench it out, but found an arrow fired into her hand. She could feel her aura start to waiver, but she couldn't give up. She wouldn't be taken so easily. She spun on her feet quickly, removing the arrow from her hand and stabbing it into Rowan's hand, who had lost his grip on his hook when she turned. He wrenched it back, grunting in pain. She managed to dislodge his hook from her body, noting that he still had her bolts sticking out of his chest. She turned to run but Ivory landed in front of her, blocking her path. They exchanged quick glancing blows with their weapons, Ivory's still in its bow form, quickly throwing it left and right to use the limb blades to block.

"What's wrong?" Asked Jade standing beside her. "Feeling weak? Starting to realize that all of your efforts during the entirety of your life were a waste?" Jade sliced Nebula's arm with her dagger, causing the girl to snatch it away in pain, and allowing Ivory to knock her back again. "Give up, and at least you can have part of your life back." Nebula stood, swaying slightly as she looked at the ground.

"Go to hell." She replied. "I'd rather die a hero than knowing I could have lived longer aiding scum like you." Jade chuckled.

"Alettas, I'll take it from here." The twins nodded at her and flew off. Nebula still swayed, doing everything in her power to remain on her feet when Jade walked over to her, grabbing her jaw and shaking it. "You still think that you're in some sort of mind trick? That I've drugged you, and as soon as you die again, you'll get another do over?" Jade laughed and threw Nebula back onto her butt. "Funny thing about the mind. It is incapable of making up new faces. When you dream, when you hallucinate, when you fantasize..." Jade lifted her by her arm to her feet again and got up in her face. "And I don't think you've ever had the pleasure of meeting my pupils before, which must mean that you're very much awake at this point. I thought it'd be more fun to let you out of that basement, just to watch you fail escaping."

"Just give in," said Octavia appearing from the trees, and walking for them. "The pain will only get worse, and with this power racing through my veins, I feel so alive!" Jade smiled at Octavia and nodded.

"See, it isn't so bad." Jade moved to the girl's neck. "So, what do you say?" Nebula mustered her strength up and shoved Jade away.

"You must be hard of hearing, I said go to hell," Nebula repeated.

"I guess we'll have some more fun then," Jade told her. She lifted both of her daggers and ran for Nebula, who blocked them both and retaliated with an empty, weak swing at her opponent. Jade pinned her arm back and stabbed her in the middle of the chest, wrenching it back and forth as the girl moaned out. She gurgled, blood spewing from her mouth as she coughed. "Why wouldn't you just give up? It doesn't have to be like this."

"I guess… I guess Remnant means more to me than my own life." Nebula managed. Her aura still held, and Jade was confused. How could the girl be so close to death, but her aura not be broken yet? Joseph slowly approached them, Jade staring deep into Nebula's eyes with wonder.

"Jade, we need to give her a break or…" He began.

"Give me another vial of the poison." She demanded from him without looking away from Nebula.

"But Jade, no one has ever needed more than one," He tried to explain. She turned quickly, throwing her dagger and it planted in his left shoulder. He stood motionless, watching the hunger fade from Jade's eyes. The woman **needed** to know why this girl was different, and Joseph was standing in her way, something he had learned was a bad idea years ago. "Yes Jade." He left and Jade began beating the girl in the abs, holding her up and slamming her fist into her repeatedly, her dagger still sticking out of Nebula's chest. With every hit Nebula would grunt, but her aura did not give out and it had thrown Jade into a crazed state of disbelief. Another. Another. And another. No matter how many times she hit her, Nebula resisted, blood seeping from her mouth in a steady stream and about to pass out from the pain.

"Why won't you give up!? Why do you resist?" Jade demanded. She hit the girl in the jaw and she planted into the tree, body limp and slouching. Joseph had returned and gave Jade the vial, which she filled immediately and injected into the girl without hesitating. "Are you not afraid of me?!"

"Death? Yes, but not you." Jade was frozen, her body shook as she stood over Nebula's body, the venom coursed through the girl now, slowly and weakly. Jade trembled over Nebula, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her, Nebula's head smacking against the tree repeatedly.

"Jade," Joseph spoke quietly. Jade picked the girl up and stared into her lifeless eyes.

"ALL WILL FEAR ME!" Jade screamed. Glass dust formed around Jade's hand into a large pike, and she drove it clean through the girl's chest, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She looked at Joseph and Octavia before turning back to Nebula. The pike shattered and Nebula's body crumbled to the ground in a pile. Her body slowly dissipated into violets that danced away in the wind of the storm as the thunder crashed once again. Jade looked down at her hands and then back up at Joseph. "That was interesting. I've never felt such rage."

"We should get back to headquarters," Joseph told her. He looked at her, understanding better now how Jade was driven. He felt strength through power, while she felt strength through fear. Maybe she wasn't as different as she wanted to appear.

* * *

"We will rebuild in the ashes of the previous White Fang! Adam's work will not go unnoticed and we shall continue where he left off!" Joseph shouted to the large crowd of Faunus that had gathered to hear him speak less than a week after their leader had been captured. The remaining members had escaped through a series of tunnels and if Adam was caught, this was their plan to follow up and avenge their leader. The crowd thundered their approval as the speech ended and they moved to lines for registration and purchasing new weapons, as the attack on their camp had forced most of them to flee quickly and they hadn't had time to go back. Joseph stepped down from the stage and felt a dagger at his neck as the person covered his mouth and quickly dragged him behind the stage, entering the next room of the facility and locking the door behind them. He wrenched away and turned to face the assailant.

She was a tall slender woman who clearly enjoyed the color purple, and had the eyes of a snake. He was caught up in them instantly, a sense of wonder and precaution filled his mind.

"You must be Joseph. Adam spoke highly of you when I met him, and by highly I mean that he mentioned you in passing," Jade told him. She walked past him with determination and turned back, extending one finger and gesturing for him to follow her. He obliged, and joined her in a large empty cafeteria, the tables had all been cleared out. On the far end stood two Faunus, a male and female, both with wings.

"What do you want? I'm trying to keep Adam's vision alive, and I don't have time for any BS," He told her stopping halfway across the room. She turned back to look at him, tapping her foot.

"Fine. Alettas!" She called out. "Come here!" The two Faunus ended their conversation with one another and joined Jade in the middle of the room. "I always hated lengthy introductions, so I'm Jade, this is Ivory, and that's Rowan." Ivory nodded and Rowan folded his arms.

"Yeah? And?" Joseph asked. Jade chuckled and she looked back at the twins.

"So pushy." She looked at him again, biting her lip. "I like it." She walked over to him, tracing her finger over his shoulders as she walked around him. "I thought that maybe you could help the three of us out with something."

"That being?" He asked, swallowing hard. He was turned on, he had to admit it to himself, but he didn't want to admit it to her. She grabbed his jaw and he slowly caved, moving into her gaze slowly, before finding himself completely lost.

"Salem wants you to help us," She asked him, her words dripping with longing and sexual desire. How anyone could have such power over another with words alone was something that escaped Joseph's comprehension, and the unnerving feeling he got from the mention of Salem's name broke him from the trance. He pulled away to Jade's displeasure, and headed back from where he'd came.

"I'd love to help, but I have a people to oversee," He called back to her.

"We can bring them with us, but if you leave now, you won't become strong enough to overcome your greatest fear," she called out to him. He froze in his tracks, wondering if she somehow knew what his fear was. "The Alettas and I have overcome our fear. It's made us strong, and it's all thanks to Salem." He looked at her, fists clenched.

"What do you know about it?" He yelled at her, jaw set. Rowan handed her the file and Jade opened it, thumbing over the pages.

"You were stolen from you mother at a young age, 5 is what it says here, but who knows how completely accurate this psychological profile is. When they took you away they raped her, and then killed her, because you were the product of a Faunus and a human. All you wanted was for them to stop 'hurting mommy'. Sound accurate?" Jade asked. Joseph felt adrenaline rush through his entire body and heat flare over his face. "Joseph Arc. When you were 9 you tried to run away from the White Fang, but your father rejected you when you showed up, having had several daughters and a son since then, and didn't want to disrupt his happy family with the inconvenience of assimilating you into their lives. Familiar with this story? You're not with the Fang because they ever did anything for you. They ruined your life. You're here because you want to feel powerful." Gravity and fire Dust lit up his shawl and he ran at them with extreme speed, stopping short of Jade. He planted his feet and thrust out both fists, a shockwave firing from both in the form of fire Dust, slamming into the twins and exploding, throwing them away.

"You don't know me!" He yelled in her face. He swung for Jade, who caught his fist. The fire crept up her arm, burning her, and she threw a punch with her right fist, nailing him in the face. He stumbled back for a moment as Rowan had returned. He swung at Joseph, hooking his horn and pulling with no luck. Joseph jerked his body away, throwing Rowan from him as Ivory arrived. He caught her axe by the blade as she swung. Blood dripped from his hand and Ivory looked at it in shock as he reached up with his other hand. He kicked her in the stomach, sending her sliding away and he snatched away her staff, snapping it in half. Rowan came at him again growling. Joseph caught the hook and redirected it, plunging it deep into Rowan's leg. He gave the chain a jerk and Rowan landed on his back.

He spun around to hit Jade again, she batted the fist away and stabbed him in the arm with her dagger. He swung back at her and she ducked, grabbing his cloak and tearing it in half, yanking it away. He stood there motionless, in complete disbelief.

"This is the last thing that your mother gave to you. A blanket with Dust sown into it, and you had it fastened into a garment, that way you could always remember and draw strength from the only person that ever loved you." Jade told him. Rowan found his feet again and leapt. "Enough Rowan!" He flapped his wings short of reaching Joseph, stopping him in the air. He groaned and landed on his feet, walking past Joseph and helping Ivory gather up her broken weapon. Joseph held out his hand, waiting for the shawl.

"Give it back." He said. Jade handed it over and turned away, walking towards the far end with the Alettas. "Hey!" Jade looked back at him as the twins continued out. "What kind of power comes with agreeing to help you?" She smiled softly at him.

"More power than you can ever hope to imagine." She waited as he weighed his options in his head before walking over to her. "Congratulations on making the right choice." She began leaving with him and grabbed his arm just before they reached the door. "Oh, and never stand in my way ever again."

* * *

I think it's probably safe to say that Jade is out of her mind, or at least incredibly determined to succeed in her plan to mike all of Remnant fear her. In the next chapter we'll discover the mistake that drove a wedge between Blake and Coco in Chapter 16 - No Velvet Left Behind! (My least clever title yet!)

Weekly reminder, shout out to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) and Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist).

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	20. Chapter 16 - No Velvet Left Behind

"Blake, can I talk with you for a few moments before we start training today?" asked Ruby as she opened Blake's door, knocking on it lightly. Blake looked up from her desk and smiled at Ruby.

"Of course Ruby," Blake replied as she moved from her desk to the couch and patted it, offering Ruby a seat.

"Wow. You're in a really good mood, what's going on?" Ruby asked.

"I realized last night before I went to bed that I can't give up here. That we need to see this thing through and save Weiss," Blake explained. Ruby smiled and nodded in agreement.

"That's a good way to look at it!" Ruby exclaimed. The door slowly opened again and Ash stood in the doorway, her hands covering her mouth which was agape. She squealed slightly as her knees knocked together and she held her hands together, clasped against her chest.

"It… You're…" Ash gasped. Aku filled the doorway behind her, crouching so that his head didn't hit the ceiling.

"Oh boy," Ruby said laughing. Blake looked perplexed and leaned over to Ruby.

"How did she fit the Ursa in down the stairs?" Blake inquired. Ruby shrugged.

"Blake Belladonna! It's an honor! I didn't think this moment was ever going to come! You're my idol! You're my favorite! Ahhhhhhh! I'm fangirling so hard right now! What you did to bring down the White Fang was just amazing! You saved Remnant! All four of you of course, but you're the coolest Blake! I love _Ninjas of Love_ too!" Ash squealed and continued on, jumping up and down and shaking Aku excitedly.

"See Blake," Ruby told her quietly. "You're the coolest." Blake blushed and shoved Ruby playfully.

"Did you need something Ash?" Blake asked. She screamed again and grabbed Aku pushing him down the hall.

"No, just wanted to say hi! She knows my name Aku! I know! Dream come true!" Her voice trailed as she continued down the hall. Ruby closed the door and then sat back down.

"So, you had a question for me?" Blake asked.

"What happened with Yang? And Velvet?" Ruby asked. Blake's smile disappeared and she sighed as she sat back. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"You deserve to know. It's the last time I've gone out on a mission, and the last time anyone from the team has run into Weiss. I had sent Yang out, but she never came back from her mission after a day and I was starting to worry-"

* * *

Blake looked down at Yang's mechanical arm and gauntlet as Coco burst into the room, out of breath.

"Coco, what's going on?" Asked Blake, out of sorts and rubbing her wet eyes.

"Weiss is on the television. They're going to execute Yang!" Blake leapt to her feet, dropping Yang's arm, and shoved Coco out of her door, running to Coco's situation room and watching on one of the screens. Yang was kneeling blindfolded, her body mostly limp, with Joseph, gun in hand, standing beside her and Weiss. Weiss's eyes looked cold and red, as though she had also been crying.

"To the people of Vale, I give you Yang Xiao Long. She was the cofounder of the vigilante group Nightshade and is accused of conspiring against Vale's peacekeeping and military force Rose Petals. She has killed a countless number of my men, and destroyed government assets on more than one occasion. I had offered her and their leader, Blake Belladonna, full exoneration if they would have given themselves up and left Vale for good or joined our cause. My offer of peace was met with more violence and now it's time for Nightshade to pay the price." Weiss nodded to Joseph and the camera focused solely on Weiss's face as she flinched. A gunshot rang out and thundered over the speakers. Everyone in the room gasped, shaken to the core.

"Yang…" Blake called out softly.

"I'm offering a large bounty for anyone who can bring me anyone who is Nightshade or who is associated with them. Their names will run across the bottom of your screens now, and will for the next week during regular programming. Let this be a lesson to all, that Rose Petals will do everything and anything necessary to protect Vale and the rest of Remnant." The screen went black and everyone slowly turned to Blake.

"All of our names," said Velvet in disbelief, touching the screen, watching the banner scroll. Blake's mind flashed back to the empty alley way, filled with blood. The only thing that remained was Bumblebee, and half of Ember Celica, which was still attached to Yang's mechanical limb. "What do we do?" Blake looked up at them and more of them filed into the hallway, standing in the open door.

"Did you see that?" asked Sun.

"I think she finally lost it. Weiss finally snapped," someone else mumbled. Blake felt everything breaking inside of her as she felt everyone's eyes on her and the weight of their lives crushed her. She couldn't do it anymore. She wanted to give up. Perhaps Weiss would let her live at least.

"You all are free to leave. None of you deserve to be in this kind of danger," Blake told them weakly. She looked at them with tear filled eyes. "Go. Please go and save yourselves." They looked at Blake who was beside herself and slowly began to file out.

"No." Coco said. Blake turned to look at Coco, who stood on her chair and looked out at them all. "No. It's too late! All of us are marked and clearly Weiss has gone off the deep end. This time, we're going to bring the fight to her. Who's with me? We can't just give up on Blake now!" They all stood motionless before Neo pushed her way through, leaping onto Coco's desk and raising her hand. Sun and Neptune stepped forward, raising their hands.

"No, please. Don't." Blake pleaded. Blake was already at odds, but their overwhelming support only battered her emotions further. Why would they risk their lives like that?

"We want to do it for Yang," Velvet said as she raised her hand. Slowly, they all raised their hands. Blake slowly found her feet and looked around at all of them, her hand lifting weakly into the air. They cheered and stormed out of the room. Blake watched as they all scrambled.

"Coco, I don't know what to say..." Blake started. Coco leapt down and grabbed Blake, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Weiss just killed your wife. I need you to be the Blake I know you can be. Get pissed and go mess her up." Coco told her. Blake looked at her, the realization setting in that she was right. Blake nodded slowly before she completely came to. Blake took a deep breath. Her body was still numb from the panic and fear that Weiss may have actually killed Yang, but if she gave up now, she'd never know, and she'd never get her answers. They _had_ to stop Weiss.

"You're right." Blake left the room, returned to her own room, and quickly grabbed Gambol Shroud, attaching it to the magnet on her back. She stood in the hallway and shouted out to her team. "This is it. I appreciate all of you sticking it out. We're going to be deep in Weiss's territory, so if any of you want to pass on this mission, I'd understand. Everyone else, we'll pile into the airship in 10 minutes and head up the mountain!" They all nodded at her in acknowledgement and scattered again. Coco stepped into the hall.

"10 minutes is a little sooner than I was thinking," Coco told her.

"I think we should go now! Hopefully she's filled with enough regret that I can fix this!" Blake said with a renewed strength. Coco smirked.

"Maybe." Her smile faded and she approached Blake, placing her face close to Blake's shoulder. "If you don't mind, can Velvet sit this one out? She can run comms with me. She will feel the need to go fight considering what just happened, but please don't let her. Maybe I'm just paranoid because we just lost Yang, but Velv should stay here." Coco told Blake. Velvet entered the hall behind Coco, not having heard her.

"Sure, that's fine Coco. Thanks for motivating everyone, myself included." Blake said patting her shoulder. They exchanged a quick hug and Blake headed up the steps. Velvet watched her ascend the stairs and turned back to Coco.

"Coco, aren't you coming?" asked Velvet.

"I thought we could stay behind this time," Coco told her, heading back into the room. Velvet looked back at the situation room.

"I'll be right back Coco! Have to grab something quick!" Velvet called back into the room before she took off down the hall and followed the group out. She climbed onto the airship with Neo, Sun, Blake, Sage, and Reese.

"Velvet, I thought that you and Coco were going to stay behind," Blake told her as Velvet gripped one of the leather straps hanging from the railing on the top of the airship's interior.

"Please Blake. Let me go. I want to show Coco how much I've learned from her and how good I've gotten," Velvet begged. Blake smiled sheepishly, not sure what to say, knowing Coco didn't want her to go. "Please?"

"I think Coco…"

"I want Coco to think I can do it on my own. That I'm strong enough. Then maybe she'll propo- think I'm good enough." Velvet's ears flopped slightly and Blake knew she couldn't deny the bunny.

"You can go with." Blake looked up to the cockpit at Neo. "We're ready! Let's go!" Neo flew towards the mountain, and over the facility as knights tried to shoot the airship down. "Can we get closer?" Neo shook her head, fearing the robots would take them down.

"We'll be fine!" Sun yelled over to Blake. He leapt onto Reese's board with her and she rode out, falling towards the ground while spinning. Neo jammed it into auto pilot and grabbed Velvet, opening her parasol and leaping out. Sage and Blake leapt out last, Sage swinging his sword and falling directly towards his target, a large paladin that had spotted the airship. Blake fired her pistol, swinging off of the paladin as she approached, just moments before Sage sliced it in half.

"Let's go knock on Weiss's door and see if she wants to come out and talk to us," Blake stated.

"More knights and soldiers!" yelled Reese as she stopped her board to let Sun off. She leapt off and formed her board into guns. She opened fire. "We'd appreciate a little back up over here!"

"Sun, Sage, and Reese. You three deal with the military," Blake said as Neo yanked on her sleeve. Blake turned around to see Weiss and a man wearing a suit beside her, marching out to meet her. Blake formed her pistol back into their sword and sheath blade forms, standing ready as Weiss stopped several feet away.

"Here to give up Blake?" asked Weiss. "Did seeing Yang die knock some sense into you?" Blake scoffed, steadying her hands as she stood, still maintaining her pose. Blake did her best to maintain composure, but the words enraged her.

"I'm here to make you pay Weiss. Once and for all." Blake said. Weiss chuckled and unsheathed Myrtenaster, turning to the suited man.

"Dorian, take the short pink one and the bunny, would you?" Weiss asked.

"Of course Weiss," he replied reaching into his jacket pocket. "Where are the twins?"

"They had something that needed to be attended to immediately," Weiss told him. She turned back to Blake. "Shall we?"

"I'm going to give your right eye a matching scar," Blake snarled. She took off running. Weiss formed a fire glyph below herself, leaping back as Blake arrived and exploding it. Blake back flipped away continuously as Weiss opened a string of fire glyphs under her, keeping her moving. Blake came out of her last flip and was met by Weiss's blade, Weiss had quickly moved to her using a gravity glyph. Blake caught the sword between her two blades and shoved it back, breaking Weiss's forward momentum and smacking her away with the blunt side of her sheath. Weiss quickly stopped and launched Blake back with a gravity glyph. Blake sprinted through it, her clone flying through the air, and their swords clashed again. They both grunted, pushing back against each other until they both leapt back. Blake had never wanted to hurt Weiss before, but now it was personal.

Meanwhile, Neo stood with her hip cocked, sizing up Dorian.

"By all means," he told her. "Ladies first." She curtsied and took off running for him, parasol behind her and ready to swing when she arrived. She had made it halfway when he threw a handful of clock gear shurikens at her. She slid to a stop and opened the canopy on her umbrella, but somehow she found herself a few feet back again and her weapon was still behind her. As the shuriken hit, her clone shattered. "Impressive!" The parasol handle slammed into his jaw and reeled away, his body swinging the other direction. As he regained his balance, Velvet landed a sucker punch in his stomach using Ember Celica, throwing him into the air. Neo leapt into the air, slamming her closed parasol into his back and hurtling him back to the ground. He disappeared and stood back where he had been originally.

"How does he do that?" asked Velvet.

Blake swung in tight arcs, hitting Weiss's rapier twice with her blades every time she swung. Weiss leapt back, freezing Blake in a block of ice and forming a lightning glyph above her. Blake fired her pistol, it planted in the ground, and she broke free, just missing the lightning. Blake flew past Weiss, swiping at her on the way by and causing her to stumble back. As Blake landed she pulled her gun out of the ground and fired rapidly at Weiss, who blocked all of the shots with a glyph. A gravity glyph threw Blake at Weiss, and as Weiss sliced through her, the clone disappeared, revealing the real Blake behind her who landed a clean shot on Weiss's jaw. Weiss recoiled, blasting both of them into the air with a fire glyph and throwing herself back to the ground with gravity. Blake swung for the ground with her gun but Weiss opened an ice glyph under it, freezing it as it fell through. Blake fell back towards the ground more slowly than she hoped she would, allowing Weiss to fire at her through a series of gravity glyphs. Blake loaded an earth Dust cartridge as she hit the earth, the stone clone shattering as Blake leapt to her feet and dodged several shots of Dust from Weiss.

"Blake! Give up! You can't win and even if you do, it won't bring Yang back!" Weiss demanded. Blake grinded her teeth as their blades met again.

"That won't stop me from trying!" Blake's clone phased out and an uppercut from the blunt side of Blake's sheath hit Weiss square in the jaw, launching her. Blake threw her gun as it transformed, wrapping it around Weiss and firing, throwing Weiss to the ground. Weiss opened a wind glyph, slowing her fall and allowing her to land on her feet, blocking several shots from Blake. Blake freed Weiss and leapt back, holding her blades at the ready again.

Neo ran for Velvet and stood in front of her, parasol open behind her. She nodded at Velvet, holding up two fingers. Velvet shrugged and fired as Neo leapt. Neo closed her parasol, allowing herself to launch forward and her feet crashed into Dorian, who blocked them with his hands. She leapt backward off of him and flipped once, her feet coming for Velvet. Neo pointed at Dorian and Velvet picked up on the plan, and Velvet fired Neo into the air. Velvet ran at Dorian and fired at him twice with Yang's gauntlets before they disappeared and he knocked her back. Neo's blade pierced through his chest and sunk all the way through. His lung had been punctured and he gasped, hoping he had enough power left to pull his ace. His hand shook as he reached it, removing his pocket watch, and slamming it against the ground next to him. The sky lit up bright red before it plunged him into complete darkness. He felt his body lift off of the ground without any effort, Neo's bladed sliding back out of him.

She flew back into the sky and in reverse he blocked Velvet. She ran backwards away from him. His body shook as he felt his out of body self reach for the pocket watch to stop time from rewinding further. His body shook violently and Dorian wondered how far back he could go without dying, but decided that this wasn't the place to test it. He pressed the button and time started again, Neo's feet were coming right for him again. He threw her back and opened his glyph behind him, pulling the shadow minute hand off of the clock face and blocking both of Velvet's attacks and batting Neo out of the air. He could feel the blood trickling down from his nose.

Weiss opened a barrier of vertical glyphs around Blake in a circle and leapt from glyph to glyph, slashing at Blake who blocked most of the attacks. Blake loaded a gravity cartridge and each hit produced a new clone until there were four Blake's and their blades formed a wall that Weiss couldn't get through, knocking her off of her path and destroying the glyphs.

"Are you sure you want to keep this up?" Weiss asked her as she noticed Dorian being beaten. "What if you lose someone else?" Weiss moved quickly towards Dorian and blocked the next attack, kicking Velvet through a gravity glyph, shooting her off into the distance. Weiss turned, pulling Dorian behind her, and tried the same thing with Neo, but Neo opened her parasol, keeping her from going too far.

"Neo!" Blake shouted running over. "Silent Shroud!" Neo nodded and Blake loaded another gravity cartridge, throwing her gun to Neo. Neo teleported with the gun and Blake quickly formed several clones that sprinted past Neo, who teleported again to the original Blake, wrapping Weiss and Dorian up in her ribbon.

"You think this ribbon can stop me?" asked Weiss. Neo handed the gun back to Blake and sprinted for the two. Weiss opened a glyph below them, and they disappeared.

"Well that's new," Blake said in amazement. Blake was hit in the back of the head by Dorian with his shadow spear, throwing her to the ground and he threw it at Neo who blocked it with her parasol. Weiss stepped out from behind him and aimed Myrtenaster again.

"I'm much stronger than the last time we faced off," Weiss said, preparing to attack again. Velvet came running in from out of nowhere and formed Crescent Rose, clashing with Weiss. Weiss's eyes turned dark and she attacked Velvet with blind rage. "How dare you use Ruby's weapon! Were you saving it all these years just to fight against me with it!?" Weiss knocked Velvet back into another teleportation glyph and she was gone.

"Velvet, no!" Shouted Blake. "Weiss, don't do this!" Weiss swung at Blake who blocked her attack at the last moment.

"Why do you keep insisting on changing my mind?" Weiss demanded shoving against Blake, her feet sliding as she had trouble planting them beneath her. "I'm not doing anything wrong! I am helping Vale, and I will protect them from you!" She shoved Blake away and shot backwards with a gravity glyph, grabbing Dorian and sprinting away. Blake turned to chase after her, but a paladin stomped into the way.

"Sun, Sage, Reese! We have to go!" Blake yelled back to them. They formed on her position and they all stood in a circle fighting the militants as Neo used her scroll to remote control the airship to where they were.

"Where's Velvet?" Sun asked.

"Weiss took her!" Blake yelled, half crazed.

"We can't leave without her!" Sage replied as he sliced through several knights.

"If we don't, we'll die." Blake's mind drifted to the alley. The blood covered everything. The walls. The ground. Bumblebee. Yang's arm. Blake. Blake felt the tears fall as she fell to her knees. What had Yang done? Why would Yang leave and try to take down Weiss on her own? What had she found out that none of the rest of them knew? Blake had sent Yang out on a simple recon and Yang went rogue. She refused to answer her scroll or ear piece. Blake held the arm tight to her body, screaming. But all that came out was silence. Maybe now, it was her turn.

"Blake!" Sun yelled snapping her out of it. They had to retreat. Without Velvet. They had no choice, chasing after Weiss on her own turf would only prove suicidal.

 _You got this babe_ , Yang's voice reminded Blake in her head. Blake took Sun's hand and he pulled her onto the airship as it flew off. Blake wasn't sure why she thought a direct approach would work better. She just knew they wouldn't give up. She knew that she _couldn't_ give up. _You got this babe._

* * *

"I know it's really hard for you Ruby, but it's like Weiss is a completely different person. I think she's being forced into all of this, like Adam used to make a lot of the Faunus in the White Fang act violently. Some of us were there before his revolution and we wanted to make a change peacefully but he convinced us that it just wasn't possible. He convinced _me_ that it wasn't. Maybe someone has done that to Weiss," Blake offered. There was a knock at the door and it slowly opened. Neo stood there with the newspaper, handing it to Blake and teleporting away as she shut the door again. "Neo must have gone into town."

"Can I call her now?" asked Ruby. Blake sighed.

"I wish you could. I'm telling you Ruby. These people that are running things at Rose Petals are powerful and crafty, and we can't afford to lose you again, even if it's in an effort to get Weiss to come to her senses," Blake explained again.

"Okay," Ruby agreed reluctantly. Blake perused the paper for a moment before shifting on the couch and gripping it tight, reading it again to make sure that she read it correctly the first time.

"But this… This could be our chance!" Blake exclaimed. She jumped up and set the paper on her desk. "It says that Rose Petals is looking for someone to join their advisory cabinet for Ms. Weiss Schnee!" Blake raked her fingers through her hair.

"We could plant a mole?" Ruby asked, starting to follow.

"Exactly!" Blake sat down quickly. "But Weiss and Rose Petals knows everyone that we have here."

"Not everyone," Ruby said opening the door. "Oh Ash!"

"You can't be serious," Blake told her. She shook her head in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nobody over there knows her. We can prep her today and then send her out tomorrow. Coco can watch her from the situation room and guide her every step of the way," Ruby explained. Blake rested her chin on her fingers and shook her head, thinking it over. She stood up again and paced.

"It's short notice, but I think that we might be able to pull it off." Ash stepped into the room, awestruck at her surroundings.

"Yes senpai? I mean Blake! Yes Blake?" Ash stammered as she stood at attention. "Unless you don't mind me calling you senpai. I'll call you whatever you want! Anything!" Blake looked hard at her, still confused about how to read her.

"Blake's fine, but I have a job that only you can do. Think you can handle it?" Blake asked.

"Yes! Whatever it is, I'll do it for you Blake!" Blake looked at Ruby who smiled.

"It might work."

* * *

In possibly the first heated battle between Weiss and Blake since the cliff side, we see that both of the women have gotten stronger. Now that it's out in the air that Velvet's kidnapping is what drove a wedge between Coco and Blake, does Ruby try to fix it? Does Blake tell Coco that the reason Velvet wanted to do it so bad was so that she could prove herself to the woman? Next week we'll find out if Jade continues down her path to success in Chapter 17 - Blood and Bonds.

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart.

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	21. Chapter 17 - Blood and Bonds

Story time! So when I wrote this story, I wrote everything ahead of time and just went with the flow of it, I wasn't always checking to see how many words long the chapter was or other such nonsense that a person should care about. If you don't count the notes for this chapter it's not even 2,000 words in length and with that being said, I've also decided on uploading the next chapter today as well. Please enjoy Chapter 17 - Blood and Bonds and Chapter 18 - Venomous Encounter.

* * *

"I hope the two of you are ready to have your asses kicked today, because I've had a long morning, and I need to vent," Jade said as she turned around to close the doors to the training room behind her. A simulated field with a river running through the middle had already been loaded and Jade looked out to see Weiss with the twins standing next to the river. "Ms. Schnee, to what do we owe this pleasure? You haven't joined me for a training session in quite sometime. It's an honor and privilege."

"The twins said it might be a great workout for the two of us if we face off instead," Weiss suggested. She looked at them and Ivory shrugged while Rowan nodded. Jade cracked her neck and leapt on the balls of her feet, checking her sports bra over and walking towards the other end of the room. Jade snorted in a short bout of disbelief, readying her daggers and crouching slightly in a battle position. "Ready over there?"

"Of course!" Jade called back.

"3, 2, 1, Go!" Rowan called out. Jade took off towards the middle of the room in a sprint, arriving before Weiss, who had opened a glyph below herself. Jade leapt back, anticipating a glyph, but instead Weiss used it to throw the water from the river into the air, making it impossible for Jade to see Weiss on the other side. Jade knew, however, that the same was true for Weiss, and she quickly ran to her right, running past the edge of the water wall and reaching Weiss in a few steps. Her daggers met Weiss's sword and they locked against each other, Jade's weapons sliding slightly, but maintaining force against Myrtenaster. Jade grinned and shoved Weiss back, rushing her before she could form a glyph and forcing her to the wall.

Jade withdrew a dagger, making an effort to slice at Weiss's side, but Weiss pushed her off and formed a trail of ice using her rapier. Jade slid across it back to the river, where Weiss sent a wave of earth Dust through the arena, causing a ripple through the ground and it raised up like an ocean wave, throwing Jade off of her feet. Jade rolled quickly into the river and let it carry her to the edge of the arena where she came out and dove out of the way of a blast of gravity Dust. Weiss used her glyphs to move quickly across the room and reached Jade, where their blades met again.

"See, there's this thing about snakes. We like to draw our pray in, and then strike!" Jade exclaimed. She slashed out, tearing through Weiss's dress at waist height and drawing the slightest bit of blood. Weiss knocked her back and planted her into the ground with ice Dust.

"Close Jade," Weiss told her. Jade bent back, just missing Weiss's blade, and managed to free herself. She blocked two more swipes before making solid contact with the third, stumbling back towards the river. Jade came to a quick stop as the water blasted up into the air again, and she spun, throwing her momentum. Weiss planted herself on a vertical glyph and fired herself towards Jade, who stood ready for the impact. Weiss's blade sliced clean through Jade, but stopped halfway as Jade became glass and the real Jade stepped out of the decoy, falling to her hands and knees. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I can, but I really shouldn't," Jade gasped as she fell to the floor. "It takes up far too much of my power to use that. I think we can safely call this a draw. Unless you want me to stand up and inject you." Weiss shook her head and pulled harder on her sword.

"No, of course not." Jade waved her hand and the clone shattered and fell to the floor, freeing Myrtenaster. Weiss sheathed it and helped Jade stand. "Well played. Perhaps next time you'll win against me." Weiss left the room first.

"Perhaps," Jade called after her. The door slammed. "I let you win you-"

"Did you get it?" asked Ivory. Jade examined the blade and nodded, holding it gingerly.

"I'm going to take this down to Alice. The two of you protect Weiss like usual." They both nodded.

"Is that true?" Rowan asked her.

"What?" Jade asked.

"That you can't make the glass clones very often?" She grimaced and walked away.

"If I could, I'd use them a lot more often!" He shrugged as he looked at Ivory and they followed Weiss out, meeting up with Dorian and preparing to head back over to the manor. They drove for a short while before Weiss spoke up.

"Dorian, do we have time to go into town for a short while?" Weiss asked. Dorian removed his pocket watch and looked it over, nodding to Weiss.

"We can fit in something extra this evening before we head back home, what did you have in mind?" He asked.

"I want the people to see that I'm trying to help them and make a change. Nightshade is always trying to discredit me. Can we head to the hospital and go to the pediatric ward?" The twins exchanged glances between each other and Dorian. Dorian nodded his head.

"Yeah, why not?" He offered. After going through proper procedure and they had all been given masks, they were allowed into the children's wing. Kids of all ages flocked to the warriors, grabbing them and climbing on them.

"Weiss, did you fight against Cinder? My mom says you're a hero!"

"Can we see your sword?"

"Can you tell us a story?"

"Are your wings real?" They all asked, their eyes large and full of wonder. Weiss smiled as she picked kids up and hugged them, showing them how her sword operated, and signing casts. Dorian smiled at Weiss, amazed at how warm she could be towards these children, when she was typically cold towards her cabinet back at their job. Dorian knew that Weiss wanted to be more like Ruby, but it almost seemed like Weiss was a natural.

"Ms. Weiss, can you tell us about the fight against Cinder?" One of the kids asked. Weiss sat down in a nearby chair and the kids stormed into the room, sitting cross legged on the floor. The nurses watched and smiled, laughing as they exchanged words. Ivory picked up a kid, letting them run their hands through her feathers. She smiled at the little boy, setting him down and petting his head as he ran away towards Weiss. She looked up at her brother.

"Aren't they cute?" Asked Ivory. Rowan's face was expressionless and his arms folded.

"Sure." Ivory turned back to Weiss, who had Dorian sitting beside her with a kid on his lap as she began telling her story.

"Ruby and I were in the tower, waiting for the others, when Cinder began attacking and we were surrounded by Grimm!" The kids jumped slightly and laughed.

"What kind of Grimm?" One of the kids asked.

"All kinds! Creeps! Ursai! Griffons! Tons of them! Our friends showed up, but then we were thrown from the tower, and we fought a Beringel!" They gasped. "Ruby took it down with my help. Then…" Weiss's mind slowly drifted back to Summer Rose and her promise.

" _Promise me, please."_

 _Ruby's lifeless body lay draped across Weiss's arms. She had failed Summer._

" _I need you to promise me that you'll protect her."_

 _All I want is to be more like Ruby. I want to make people smile like Ruby does when she enters the room._

" _I promise, I will protect her with all that I am."_

"Then what Ms. Weiss?" One of them asked. Weiss looked at the child for a moment, dazed and confused before she remembered where she was. She shook her head lightly and looked down at them.

"Then we rode back to Beacon on a Giant! It ran so fast! When we got there, Ruby's eyes turned silver and she defeated Cinder with no problem and saved everyone!"

"Awesome!" The kids shouted out.

"That's so cool!" They all dispersed, fighting each other and pretending to be huntsmen and huntresses.

"Look at me, I'm Yang!" One of them called out.

"Well then I'll be Blake!" Another called out. Weiss smiled at the children as they ran around the room and played, her eyes catching Dorian's as she stood. He could see that something was bothering her. But he wasn't sure what it was. Rowan and Dorian began heading out in front of the women and Ivory stopped Weiss.

"Can I say something off of the record?" Ivory asked. Weiss stopped and looked at the girl nodding.

"Of course."

"I think what you did for those kids back there is awesome Weiss. I mean, Ms. Schnee." Weiss wrapped her arms around Ivory who tried to push her away at first, but gave in. She couldn't admit it to anyone else ever, but she cared about Weiss's well being, and not just because Weiss was the person she was hired to protect. She genuinely respected her and everything that she hoped to stand for. Weiss let go of her and Ivory looked at her shocked.

"Thank you Ivory." Ivory nodded and headed out the door ahead of Weiss as they made their way to the car.

"Come on Ms. Schnee," Ivory said. "We wouldn't want you later for dinner." Weiss chuckled as she climbed into the car.

"Of course not." Weiss looked back at the hospital as the car pulled away. That's what she had wanted with Ruby. Love. A child. That warmth.

But it was cold without her there...

Jade opened the door to Alice's room without knocking and let herself in as Alice looked up from her computer. She scoffed and shook her head in disapproval.

"As much as you'd like to think that you run the place Jade, this is still my office and I would still ask that you knock before you just barge in like you normally do," Alice requested.

"You think your asking is going to change anything?" Jade asked with a crooked smile. Alice sighed.

"No, I suppose not. Well, what is it that you want?" Alice stood up and pulled on her lab coat.

"I have Weiss's blood, and I want to use the Dust as soon as possible." Alice looked at Jade, eying her up and down, shaking her head, and leaving the room with Jade on her heels.

"How quick do you expect me to have this done Jade?" Alice asked her.

"I was hoping to test it by the end of the day." Alice stopped in the middle of the hall way and let out a single laugh. Followed by a few more, before it grew into full blown laughter which ended as abruptly as it had begun. "What?"

"Jade, I know that the scientific aspect of all of this is newer to you than the rest of us, but I can't possibly have this ready for you to try out tonight. I could have a very, nonlethal, testing version by the end of the week. That's a very generous test launch. I've never worked with storing aura or semblances before, and I have no prior experience with Dust, so it may take a while." Jade grabbed Alice by the arm and stopped her before they reached the elevator.

"At the very least, by the end of next week?" Jade asked.

"That would be reasonable, yes." Alice freed her arm and proceeded to the elevator. "Anything else?"

"Take off the damn lab coat?" Alice pursed her lips together and shook her head as the doors slid close.

"No."


	22. Chapter 18 - Venomous Encounter

Stop! If you came here for this weeks upload, I recommend you read the previous chapter. Both chapters were uploaded the same day! Thanks!

* * *

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me again Raven," Qrow told her as they sat across from each other at a small café that had been run down and torn apart by Raven's Claw several months before. Raven slid the file across the table and Qrow opened it up. "So this is what you found?"

"Talk to enough people, and you'll eventually find the head of the operation. Looks like Mr. Schnee isn't as guilty as everyone thought originally." Raven told him. Qrow removed the pictures, which depicted Jade poisoning Mr. Schnee, and showed that she was present when he signed the contract. Qrow examined the image again and placed the file onto the table again.

"You gotta be kidding me," Qrow said out loud.

"You know her," Raven asked.

"Yeah, I hired her to be head of security during Ruby's wedding. Her and the baby birds. It all makes sense now. She wanted me to hire her because they had already planned it all out. That way Weiss would want to work with them again later, and Jade would continue using Weiss's money to keep paying Raven's Claw to cause trouble and make Rose Petals look like the best group ever. All to trick Weiss into funding them." Qrow stood up and tucked the file under his arm. Raven stood up also.

"You think that this woman is also the one trying to bring Salem back?" Raven asked.

"No doubt about it. Everything fits together too well for her not to be the one at this point." Raven opened a portal and looked back at her brother. "No chance of getting you to help Nightshade?"

"Not yet Qrow." She told him looking back at her portal. "But soon." She entered the portal and it closed behind her.

"See you around sis." Qrow set the file back down one last time and pulled out his scroll, dialing Winter and Blake so that he could fill them both in. Before he could press the call button, the scroll was shot out of his hand by a lightning arrow, completely frying it. "Well, speak of the devils." Ivory and Rowan landed feet away from Qrow, the dark street making it hard to distinguish their faces. "Well, this is certainly a disappointment. Mommy too busy tonight to come clean up her own mess?"

"You could say that," came another voice. A larger built man joined the other two from out of the shadows.

"Okay, wait. Before I proceed to kick all three of your asses, how the hell did you know that I was going to find out about your plan?" Qrow asked.

"The man who snitched was turned in, and Jade doesn't take kindly to those who mess around where they shouldn't," Ivory told him. Qrow reached back and grabbed his sword.

"Who's first? One horn here?" Qrow asked smirking. With a flick of his wrist the weapon became a gun and he blasted Joseph back between the two Faunus. They watched as he flew past them and when they turned back they were both batted away by Qrow's sword. "Rule number 1 kids. Never take your eyes off of your target."

"Rowan!" Ivory shouted to her brother. He smirked and dashed for Qrow, his hooks glancing off of the sword, sparking with each hit as Qrow maneuvered around him with ease.

"This is the best that you can do?" Asked Qrow raising an eyebrow. Ivory leapt into the fray, meeting Qrow's sword with her axe. Qrow ducked her axe and transformed his weapon into a scythe, swinging up and missing Rowan's jaw as he flapped his wings, flying backwards. Qrow swung his blade past Ivory and hooked it around her back and wings, chambering a bullet. "This might hurt." He pulled the trigger and she was thrown towards him. She reached out grabbing him, wrapping her arms around him and choking him with her staff.

"Well it's a good thing it wasn't definite that it would hurt," She said sneering. He turned into a bird to escape her staff, but Joseph punched him out of the air and he turned back as he bounced off of the ground. Qrow leapt to his feet and turned back, blasting Rowan away with his gun as he came in for another attack. Rowan growled and dropped back again, observing Ivory and Joseph. Ivory kept Qrow at a quick pace, constantly redirecting attacks and knocking her off balance and off of her rhythm, if only for a moment. Joseph came in swinging away, missing Qrow several times before Qrow knocked him away. Joseph's cloak lit up with streaks of gravity, and he slammed into Qrow's sword, throwing Qrow and his weapon back. Qrow rebounded, landing on top of his scythe, the blade resting on the ground. He fired it, launching himself and weapon into the air, and coming down for Joseph. For a moment, Rowan thought about letting it hit the ram, but flew in at the last moment and caught the weapon by the shaft, the arch of the scythe resting just above his hairline.

"Kid, if I pull this trigger, you're gonna be in a world of pain." Rowan smirked.

"Try me." Qrow pulled the trigger, and Rowan gripped the handle tight, moving with the weapon as it jerked from the recoil, avoiding the blade. Qrow formed it back into a sword and Rowan took two quick swings with his hooks, missing again as Qrow leaned quickly to the left and right.

"Give up, and we can all leave here alive." Qrow informed them. Rowan smirked as he flew straight up, revealing an arrow flying straight for Qrow's chest. It found its mark, and on impact exploded from fire Dust, throwing Qrow back. Another hit him as he tried to find his feet, this one freezing his lower half to the ground. "I've been at this too long to fall to the likes of you three." Qrow swung his sword, a shockwave tearing through the air and blasting Joseph away. Ivory blocked it with her wings and proceeded towards Qrow again. He swung down, the sword crashing through the ice and freeing him. He leapt back as she reached him, swinging her axe down and missing him. Qrow took on his bird form once again and Rowan flew quickly for him, catching him in his hands and lighting the fire Dust over his body. Qrow turned back without warning, forcing Rowan to drop him, and he hit the ground scythe first, the blade making impact as Qrow landed on the butt of the handle. As he leapt off he reached back and swung it forward, planting it in the asphalt and firing it at Ivory and Joseph.

They both dodged out of the way, Joseph running full speed for Qrow, who held up his weapon, forming it back into a sword to block the blow. Joseph slammed through his defense and threw him back. He flipped twice before landing on his feet, planting them firmly, a twinkle in his eye. His cape drifted slightly in the breeze as he looked the three of them over. Qrow stood ready with his sword behind him, impressed with the three of them. He hadn't expected them to be this difficult to defeat.

"I've only ever heard legends of Ozpin's chosen one, but now I get to see him fight in the flesh?" A voice asked from behind him. Qrow glanced back to see Jade slowly waltzing towards them and he smirked.

"So, was I under your mind control too when I hired you to protect them during the wedding?" Qrow asked. She laughed and walked around him in a large circle, maintaining her distance.

"I'm sorry to say that you weren't. That happened to work out better than I could have hoped. It's too bad though, for an older man, I have to admit, you have some rugged features that I find quite attractive." She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "I would have loved seducing you."

"Save the talk for someone who cares Jade. How did you manage to make a replica of Ruby that looked just like her?" Qrow asked. Jade laughed, still slowly circling her prey.

"Didn't Jimmy tell you?" She asked. She moved closer to him, reaching out and grabbing his necklace, looking it over in her hand. "I paid him a visit before he died. Secret government stuff. Showed it all to me. Part of the intelligence that he let me leave with was plans for Penny models. It was easy enough to make her look like Ruby with some help from my vast and endless army of Faunus that used to be White Fang. I guess Jimmy was too embarrassed to tell you that Ivory over there kicked his ass." She let go of his necklace and stepped back to Ivory, wrapping her arms around the girl's left arm and looking up at her longingly. "Would you do me a favor dear and kick _his_ ass too?"

"He's tough Jade." Ivory replied. Ivory looked at Jade who was unamused. Jade pulled Ivory down and whispered in her ear, but it was too soft for anyone else to hear. Qrow also couldn't read her lips, seeing as it was too dark to make out much. Jade turned back to Qrow and smiled, a dagger forming in each of her hands.

"Shall we?" She asked him.

"Ladies first," Qrow offered. Jade grabbed an arrow out of Ivory's quiver and charged Qrow. He blocked her daggers several times before she found her opening and jammed the ice arrow into the gear on Qrow's sword.

"Such a gentleman," She replied to him. The ice locked up the mechanism, leaving Qrow only able to use it in its sword form. Ivory ran in, occupying Qrow while Rowan ran past him, throwing both hooks past Qrow and hooking Ivory's staff. Jade snuck away as Ivory flew straight up, revealing Joseph charging for the trapped Qrow. He slammed into him and he skidded across the ground, breaking free of Rowan and slicing his chest. Rowan reached down, feeling the blood on his chest. His demeanor changed as his entire body ignited and he spun his chains. Qrow leapt onto the nearest building and began running across the rooftops, trying to escape. Rowan and Ivory flew after him as Joseph and Jade watched from the ground.

"Will they be able to stop him?" Joseph asked.

"I have no doubt that they can," Jade reassured him. "Come, we should be getting back." Joseph followed her as he watched the Faunus twins disappear beyond their field of view.

"You'll have to try harder kids!" Qrow called back to them. Arrows landed on either side of him, and he weaved back and forth, missing being hit by them by a few feet each time. Qrow let the sword drag along the ground behind him as he ran, hoping it would knock lose some of the ice, and he'd be able to transform his weapon again. Running out of rooftops, Qrow leapt off the edge, quickly spinning and planting his sword in the building. He pulled himself back up and began running back from the direction he'd came, only to have his feet knocked out from under him by Rowan's chain. They had missed hitting him on purpose, knowing he'd run back the other direction, allowing Rowan to hook his chain to his sister's arrows. Qrow tumbled, rolling across the roof before leaping back up. As he stood back up, Ivory was immediately at him, and he fumbled momentarily. He was knocked away to Rowan, who wrapped his arms around him, putting him in a headlock. Ivory sauntered over to Qrow, smiling at his as she leaned down slightly to be face to face with him.

"Perhaps, if you play nice, I can make this worth your while," Ivory told him. Rowan's eyes grew wide as he looked at his sister. Qrow chuckled.

"Listen sweetheart. It was a valiant effort, but usually I'm the one who does the seducing," Qrow told her.

"I guess we'll do it my way then," Ivory said. She grabbed his chin and planted a kiss on his mouth. Rowan let go in disbelief, unsure of how to react to what was happening in front of him. Suddenly, Ivory kneed Qrow in the crotch, sending him to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Ivory, are you feeling okay?" Rowan asked. She nodded.

"What do you mean?" She asked him as she turned to face Qrow. Rowan noted the bite marks on Ivory's ear, which must have happened when Jade was whispering to her. "Come on, let's finish him off."

"Sure." Rowan said. He took his weapon and hooked Qrow by the chest, knocking his sword away and pulling him to his feet. Qrow groaned in pain as Rowan walked to the edge of the building, prepared to hang him.

"Alettas!" Called a voice from below. They looked down to see that Jade was watching them from the street. "I'd rather we bring him back alive!" Rowan grumbled and kicked Qrow over the edge. He landed on the ground with a thud, cracking the pavement.

"You…" Qrow moaned through the pain as Jade dragged him up. "You won't win."

"You seem pretty sure of yourself," Jade noted. "Yet, you're the one who's been caught."

"Not myself. I'm pretty confident in Ruby." Jade's lip twitched at the corner. "Yeah, you're pretty confident she can beat you too." Jade dropped him back onto the ground.

"Her eyes are no match for my Angels and unlike her mother, she doesn't know how to use them at will yet." Qrow chuckled as he lay bound on the ground.

"Maybe not yet. But she's close."

* * *

It would appear that despite the plans being carried out around Weiss, she truly thinks that ever thing she has done so far was to make it up to Summer for failing to protect Ruby. It would also appear that Nightshade has lost a very powerful asset in the form of Qrow, falling to Jade and her lackeys. Will Nightshade find the strength to prevail? Will Ruby be ready? Will Qrow become a fallen angel? Next week we find Ruby training harder than ever before in Chapter 19 - Silver Eyes.

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	23. Chapter 19 - Silver Eyes

The sweat dripped from Ruby's nose as she stood motionless, hands on her knees as she looked up at Reese who stifled a chuckle, breathing just as hard and wiping her brow. She used Crescent Rose to help her stand back up and she leaned against it, gasping for air and shaking her head, a smirk planted on her mouth.

"Ready for another round?" Ruby asked. Reese propped herself up on the end of her board and looked Ruby over shaking her head slightly.

"This is overdoing it a bit, don't you think?" Reese asked. Ruby thought it over in her head.

"Of course not. I want to be strong enough to stop whoever is making Weiss do all of this. I still love her, even if she may have killed my sister," Ruby explained to her.

"You don't buy that, do you?" Reese asked. Ruby shook her head, looking deep into Reese's eyes.

"Not for a moment. Weiss might want more than anything to be like me, but she would never hurt any of her friends to get there. I know it. I don't know how, but I do." A smile tugged at Reese's mouth.

"I wish we could all be as optimistic as you Ruby. It'd be so much easier," Reese said. The smile faded and her eyes were distant. "It's just… I remember them, beating me to a pulp and not even caring. It was like someone had removed their souls and just sent back a murderous shell." Reese looked back at Ruby and tried to smile the pain away.

"One more round then?" asked Ruby. Reese nodded wiping her eyes. She grabbed her board in both hands and the two of them ran for each other. Ruby miscalculated as Reese swung her board, and it slammed into her face, knocking her out cold. Her body hit the ground and she could hear Reese panic and run away from her as everything faded to black. Ruby lay there motionless in the darkness, her body knew that it was no use, but suddenly she was jerked awake, lightning cracking over her head and lighting the dense forest she was now in. Ruby was filled with a vast confusion and found her feet after a moment as she struggled to stand in the mud. Grimm darted past her, running from tree to tree.

"Mom!" came a yell from deeper in the woods and Ruby almost mistook the voice for her own. She lifted up the scythe and ran with the beasts, they hadn't taken notice of her yet and she was able to dart in and out of the mass, launching herself up into the trees and running down the branches towards where the beasts were gathering. She leapt and swung through the trees before coming to a clearing, a small house stood in the middle and the beasts flew by, unphased by the home or huntress and they continued on their way. Ruby stopped, recognizing the house as her father's in Patch. Ruby pulled her hood down and knocked lightly on the door as the storm rolled away and the sun beat down on her.

The door was opened slowly and there stood a small girl in a white cloak, her eyes were silver like Ruby's and she had red hair with white tips. A smile crept onto the girl's face and her eyes were wet. Ruby had never met this girl before, but she knew who she was.

"Mama." Ruby trembled slowly as she knelt and the girl leapt at her, throwing her arms around her neck. Ruby picked the girl up and held her close. "Mama!" Was Ruby her mother? She knew deep down that she wasn't because her and Weiss hadn't gotten married. She had been in a coma, and Weiss was leading an evil organization, or so they told her.

"Amelia, what is it?" Asked a voice from in the house. Weiss rounded the corner, dropping the plate in her hand and it shattered on the floor as she lifted the towel in her hand to her open mouth. Her eyes also filled with tears and she ran to Ruby, hugging both of them. "Ruby! You're back! I wasn't sure that you'd make it back after Qrow sent you after Salem, but here you are!" Weiss held them tight and kissed her softly. "I'm so glad you're home." Ruby pulled away, still holding Amelia in her arms, the shock of the situation setting in.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked Weiss. Weiss smiled softly, tilting her head slightly.

"What are you talking about Ruby? Isn't this what you always wanted?" Weiss asked her. Ruby set Amelia down, who ran excitedly back into the house.

"Yes," Ruby said. She looked at the ground. "This is exactly what I want."

"What's wrong then?" Ruby slowly walked away from Weiss and back into the woods, until the world faded back into the same darkness she had arrived there from. She was surrounded by an endless void, until a voice called out and the darkness became light.

"Ruby Rose. Isn't that what you want?" The voice asked. She immediately recognized it as Ozpin's voice. He appeared before her, leaning against his cane with his coffee mug in his free hand. "Don't you want to be with Weiss and have your happily ever after?" She walked to him and knelt in front of him.

"More than anything… I'm just afraid."

"What are you afraid of child?" She looked at him, her eyes pleading.

"What if I'm not strong enough? I'm not my mother. I'll never be as strong as my mother, will I? Salem was so powerful! And both her and Cinder said that my team would be the end of Remnant." Ruby turned away. "Does that mean we should stop? Would Remnant be better off?" Ozpin closed the gap and knelt in before her, lifting her chin.

"Do you believe them? Do you really think that Team RWBY will end Remnant?" Ozpin smiled at her, filling her with a strange warmth. "You are a silver eyed warrior. Much like your mother, and in some ways, better. So again I ask, will you help mankind perish, or will you stand up to Salem and save it? It won't be easy, and it may cost you, but are they worth it? Blake, Weiss, Yang, everyone?" Ruby looked at him again and nodded.

"Yes." Ozpin smiled and helped her to her feet.

"I think you know it Ruby. And I believe that you fully understand what you want. You want to live long and be happy with Weiss, but more importantly, you feel that everyone deserves the same. Even though you mother died in order to fulfill her destiny, she did all of it for you and Yang. If she knew that it meant that the two of you would live long and full lives, she would have done it all over again. Would you be willing to die? For any of them? For all of them?"

"Of course." He walked to her and covered her eyes with his hand.

"Then use your eyes Ruby. The world needs them, and soon, you will too." Ruby shuddered.

"Professor Ozpin… Is this a dream, or are you really here with me?" He laughed quietly.

"Some of the best mysteries are better left unsolved. Wouldn't you agree?" He asked. He removed his hand and Ruby could see again. Blake, Coco, Reese, and Neo all stood above her, watching her with worried eyes.

"She's awake!" Yelled Blake. Coco and Blake both helped her sit up and Neo grabbed her wrist, taking her pulse. "Thank The Maidens! Ruby, what were you thinking?!" Blake let go of Ruby's arm and stood up, arms folded and a scowled expression covered her face. "Everyone here knows that we aren't supposed to push it this hard! Reese, I might ask you the same!"

"I'm sorry!" Reese exclaimed cowering. She began to sulk away. "Ruby said she was okay to go another round. I didn't think anything of it."

"It's fine!" Ruby exclaimed leaping to her feet. "I'm fine really! Something happened when I was out!" Neo looked up at Ruby as she stood, placing her hand on her forehead to check for a fever. Ruby pushed her off.

"It's not fine Ruby! What if something had happened!?" Blake shook her head and balled her fists, trying to repress her anger. "I'm glad that nothing did, but what if it had?"

"What do you mean something happened?" Coco asked as she stood.

"I saw Ozpin!"

"Ruby, it was just a dream or delusion." Blake said as she calmed down and headed for the door.

"Don't leave Blake! Listen!" Blake turned back to Ruby.

"I have other things that I need to tend to! I don't care if you saw Ozpin, Yang, or Ironwood! I don't care! Just take it easier next time Ruby!" Blake yelled. Everyone in the room looked at Blake, surprised by the outburst. "I'm sorry Ruby. I'm just under a lot of stress right now." Ruby smiled, picking Crescent Rose back up and standing it up beside her.

"Let's get rid of some of it! Right here! Fight me!" They all stood motionless, looking back and forth between Ruby and Blake. "I am challenging you Blake Belladonna! You wanted me to be ready! You want me to test my skills! Fight me!"

"Ruby, let her go," Coco offered. "She's right. You need to take it a bit easier."

"Thank you Coco." Blake said as she turned to walk away.

"Scaredy cat," Ruby said. Blake froze in place. Ruby smirked. "Is the kitty too afraid to take me on?"

"Is she crazy?" Reese murmured to herself from the doorway. "Everyone here knows better than to make cat references."

"Really Ruby?" Blake asked.

"I can't think of any other reason that you'd pass up proving to the team you're better than me." Ruby cocked her hip. "You don't think you can beat me." Silence filled the room again and Blake slowly reached back and detached Gambol Shroud.

"Blake?" Coco asked, confused that Blake would cave so easily to Ruby's taunting. It was as though Blake had flipped a switch, ready to push Ruby just to show the girl that it wasn't good to try so hard.

"Let's find out then." Blake turned without hesitation and sprinted for Ruby and as her sword ran through Ruby, Ruby was instantly behind her. Crescent Rose swung through Blake who generated a clone, which was sliced in half as she slid to a stop. She turned back, noting Ruby planting her scythe and firing. Blake weaved through the shots and reached Ruby, bringing down both blades onto Ruby's blade. Ruby threw her back and disappeared again. "How can she do that?" Ruby reappeared, scythe planted as she spun herself, gripping the handle and her feet planted into Blake's chest. Blake tumbled away, failing to form a clone to take the hit. Her blade became a pistol and she fired it, wrapping it around Ruby as she twisted through the air and pulled, launching herself for Ruby.

Ruby took the hit and grabbed her scythe as she flew past, freeing it from the ground. She planted it behind her and landed on the end of the handle, firing the gun and launching for Blake.

"Silver eyes…" Was all Coco managed to say before Blake's blade met Ruby's boot. Blake swung her sheathe blade around her body and through Ruby, who dissipated into rose petals, before reforming and landing a kick on Blake's jaw, sending her stumbling back. Ruby landed on her hands and back flipped, landing beside her weapon. Blake's mouth unhinged as she noticed it too and dropped Gambol Shroud.

"Amazing." Blake stood in awe. "Ruby… You're eyes."

"I know! Ozpin said I could use them now!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Incredible." Reese said as she came back into the room. "What all can they do?" Ruby shrugged.

"They take a lot out of me, so I can only do them occasionally, but I've never experimented with them," Ruby stated. "I've only done it twice before." Coco looked at Neo.

"Why don't we find out?" Coco suggested. Neo smiled, disappearing and reappearing a moment later with her umbrella and Coco's purse. "Ladybug against Coco a la mode."

"Coco a la mode?" asked Ruby as she walked to the far end of the room with Blake. Coco and Neo stood next to each other and exchanged glances. Neo shrugged.

"Don't listen to her Neo, they're just jealous." Coco told her teammate as her purse formed into the gun form. "Ready?" Blake nodded and Ruby looked back at their opponents. Reese ran out of the room for the living quarters, informing every one of the fight.

"What's the plan?" Blake asked.

"Neo's a handful, but I think we can get to Coco easily enough!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I heard that!" Coco called back. "Less talking, more fighting." Ruby took off across the room and moments before hitting Coco, she and Neo were teleported. Ruby slid to a stop as she was greeted by a reappearing Neo who shoved the end of her closed umbrella into Ruby's chest. She opened it and Ruby was tossed back, stumbling slightly as she transformed her weapon into a gun and fired several shots that slammed off of Neo's umbrella. A flurry of bullets tore into Ruby and threw her towards the wall, Blake's gun wrapping around her and preventing her impact just in time.

"Now what?" asked Ruby as Blake came to a stop next to her.

"Pull me." Blake smirked and unwrapped the pistol and fired a shot of ice dust. "From there." Ruby grabbed the gun away and moved there so fast she appeared to teleport. She pulled hard and Blake made a long sweeping arc, glancing off of Coco's gun and leaving behind a clone. She slipped past Neo. "Keep going!" Ruby pulled her around again. She was greeted this time by Coco's purse and left behind a rock clone, planting the purse in place. Coco transformed it back and broke free as Blake leapt and released the ribbon, heading feet first for Neo. She crashed through Neo's clone, landing on her feet as Ruby grabbed her from the side and dodged fire from Coco. "Have an idea?"

"For now, keep moving!" Ruby's eyes flashed and she slashed through Neo's next clone with her scythe without losing momentum.

"Ruby!" Blake exclaimed. They were moving right for Coco and Neo who had been teleported. Ruby could stop, but they'd be defense less.

"This might hurt!" Ruby shouted. She stopped instantly and Blake formed two quick gravity clones that stood in front of them, bracing for the impact. Coco's bullets tore through the clones leaving Blake and Ruby untouched. Ruby's eyes remained lit and Blake looked at her and then the clones. The clones looked themselves over as Coco finished firing and they charged Neo and Coco.

"What did you do?" Blake asked.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. Blake quickly loaded an ice cartridge and formed two ice clones that took off after the other team also.

"My clones never last… that… long." She looked at Ruby who hadn't heard her and was leaping with excitement as the clones attacked. Blake stood flabbergasted, unable to actually process what was happening and what the implications were. Ruby might actually have the ability with her eyes to amplify the semblances of others? It seemed too easy. Ruby's eyes faded and she stopped leaping, her body swaying back and forth.

"Blake-" Ruby called out before collapsing on to the floor. Neo and Coco ran over as the clone's shattered.

"Is she okay," Coco asked. Blake picked her up and looked out at the crowd that was standing just inside the doorway.

 _Blake was fighting._

 _Coco was too! She hasn't come in here in a long time!_

 _I think I saw Blake smile for a moment._

 _So that was the silver eyes that they always talk about! Awesome!_

"I think she'll be fine," Blake told them.

"Everybody move!" Sun yelled at them, turning towards the back of the mob. "Get out of the way! Blake is coming through! Move it people! Back to what you were doing!" Sun summoned a few clones and ushered the people out. They filed out, Coco followed close behind Blake as Blake handed Ruby off to Neo who teleported away with her.

"Did Ruby enhance your…" Coco began to ask.

"We'll discuss it at length later," Blake told her. They went their separate ways.

* * *

Hey everyone! Sorry for being a day late, things got kind of busy yesterday with it being Father's Day and all. Now that Ruby has the power of her silver eyes available to her, will it be enough to stop Rose Petals? This week is easily the shortest yet which I decided to put out by itself seeing that next week is possibly the longest chapter in the whole story. Next week Dorian discovers a secret of Jade's, Weiss gets hit with nostalgia, and Ashley is interviewed in Chapter 20 - The Heart of Rose Petals!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	24. Chapter 20 - The Heart of Rose Petals

"No, I'm sorry. Really, it isn't you," Dorian apologized to the woman who followed him back to the mail room. He threw the doors open and she apologized again on his heels, pleading him to leave.

"If my boss sees you back here, he is going to very upset Dorian!" She exclaimed.

"I understand that Bianca, but this set up is an unholy mess and I'll find the letter I'm looking for much quicker if you just let me find it myself," He reassured her.

"But my boss!" He turned back to face the young woman who was shaking slightly and he grabbed her gently by the shoulders.

"I report directly to Weiss. So you can tell your boss that I kindly tell him to kiss my ass and he can bring it up with Ms. Schnee later!" She gasped in offense and stamped out of the room as Dorian continued deeper into the mess that was. He stumbled over a pile of things that had recently come in and brushed himself off as he stood back up and continued further into the back of the room where old files had been archived. Dorian came to shelving that seemed to hold an endless total of boxes that held files and folders and he searched for the one that contained applications they had received in the past. The newest applicant, Ashley Rainier, was coming for an interview that afternoon and she seemed promising, but Dorian wanted to make sure that it wasn't someone that they had declined in the past for some reason. He reached back where he had recalled placing it the last time and pulled, but one of the boxes nearby caught on the corner and pulled an entire row of boxes forward. The one closest to the front of the shelf tumbled off, sending files everywhere and Dorian swore under his breath as he bent down and gathered up the files.

He straightened them out and placed them back into the box before one labeled classified caught his eye. He froze for a moment, holding it tight in both hands and looking the box over. It looked the same as the rest, but it had nothing on the outside labeling it with the exception of the Atlas emblem. He slowly opened the file and reviewed its contents. It detailed the Penny project from the Atlas military and it discussed synthetic humans being able to produce aura. It went on to give details of an experimental trial that failed at Rose Petals that had taken place under the supervision of Jade. Dorian quickly put the contents back into the box, his chest heaving as he tied it back up and placed it back onto the shelf. He pulled out his box shakily and leaned against the racks. _Why would Jade need to make new Aura? What purpose would that serve?_ Dorian tried to steady his heartbeat as he held his box close to his chest and ran to the end of the rack. Something slammed into him and he landed on his butt, his box jarring out of his grip and sliding across the floor.

"Mr. Bradbury. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Jade asked as she reached down and extended her hand. He took it after staring up at her blankly for a moment and stood up, brushing himself off once more. "I can't begin to imagine what would bring you down here."

"We had an application come in yesterday. They dropped it off at the front desk. I keep the old applications in here just as a cross reference to make sure that we don't hire anyone who we've declined before." He moved to his box and picked it up. He glanced at the classified box from before quickly before walking back over to her. "Mostly to make sure that we aren't hiring anyone from Nightshade or anyone that has ever helped or associated themselves with the group. We need to vigilant and thorough about these kind of things." She smiled, impressed by his show of sudden passion for the cabinet.

"You know Dorian, I honestly wonder why everyone in the cabinet cares for you the least. You obviously work very hard to make sure everything goes properly for Weiss, and you do your job better than anyone else would," She told him as she walked past him and grabbed the box he had spilled from before. "I really should be going though. I have a new angel that I need to break and time is of the essence."

"What's in the box?" he asked. She looked down at it and then back up at him. She laughed and walked by.

"Just a box of old memories that I no longer find useful. I plan on disposing of them later this afternoon." She slowly sauntered away and he quickly reached into his jacket pocket, removing his watch and rewinding time. His body shook violently as everything moved backwards around him, the sheer strain of his power trying to rip him apart. He managed to reach the point at which he knocked the box down and he stopped, releasing his semblance. He stumbled, his body weak after rewinding time, and he could feel the blood trickling down from his nose. Why was it so hard to move through time? He reached into Jade's box and quickly thumbed to the file, taking a picture of it with his scroll and placing the file back in. As he tied the box back up he heard someone clear their throat at the end of the aisle. He dropped the box in shock and looked down towards Jade.

"Dorian, what is it that you found in there that has peaked your interest?" she asked. She wore a seductive smile and moved to him as he found himself unable to move. He swung for her and she caught his fist, using her free hand to wrench a dagger into his arm. He grunted in pain and she forced him against the shelving. "I was going to take it easy on you Dorian, but I guess you've left me no choice." She moved to his ear. "I'm gonna tear you apart so bad that your beloved Weiss is going to think that a Beringel got its hands on you." Dorian reached into his jacket, struggling against her grasp, and managed to touch his watch, rewinding the scene again. As he was about to reach the point he had entered the room, he passed out. He slowly came to, finding himself in a large comfortable bed. He rolled over slightly to face the room, his sight fixed on Ruby's cloak as he slowly started to drift away again. His eyes shot open and he threw himself from the bed, crashing onto the floor as he leapt to his feet.

"So you're up now are you?" Weiss asked sitting at her desk and signing the paperwork in front of her. "You passed out last night in front of my door as you were heading back for your room. Your nose was bleeding profusely and most of your chest was covered in the strangest scars." He noted that he was only in his boxers and slid behind her room separator, where he found his clothes neatly piled.

"Where did you sleep? Who removed my clothes?" He asked slightly panicking.

"Oh don't worry. I slept in your room and Cardin was the one who undressed you," Weiss explained. Dorian blushed in embarrassment and disappointment. "We figured it would be easier just to drag you in here."

"What do we have planned later today?" Dorian asked. Weiss raised an eyebrow as she stood up from her desk and pushed the seat back in.

"Are you sure you're feeling better? It isn't like you to forget what the agenda for the day is." He nodded as he finished dressing and came out from behind the divider.

"I'm sure," he told her as he stepped past her and opened the door. She exited and he followed behind her, the twins watching in confusion as he left.

"Rowan!" Ivory shouted. Rowan threw his hook and pulled Dorian back towards them.

"Twice this week. Impressive." Rowan said as he smiled unnervingly in Dorian's face.

"Alettas. Let him be, there's much that we need to get done today. We have an interview this afternoon and we wouldn't want to be late for that now would we?" Weiss asked them as she rounded the corner and proceeded into the stairwell. Rowan shoved Dorian forward and he complied, jogging slightly to catch up with Weiss. His mind was still trying to process what had happened. It was the furthest he had ever gone back, and everything seemed to be normal enough.

"Weiss!" He called out. She waited for a moment before she continued for the front door.

"Yes Dorian?" She asked.

"Why would someone need to create a new aura?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow at him as they exited the building and proceeded towards the vehicle. "It's a hypothetical question, obviously."

"I can't think of any reason off hand. Unless you were going to put it into something that normally doesn't have an aura. A dog or a Grimm for example. Or you want to give something that already has one a different aura. Why do you ask?" Weiss asked him as she climbed into the car and he closed her door.

"I was only wondering," he reassured her. The twins got in as well and the four of them rode over to the headquarters.

"I'm guessing that you'll want to head down to the mail room and retrieve the old applications Dorian?" Weiss asked.

"Mmm." He nodded his head and they rode in silence the rest of the way. Dorian separated from the group and headed for the mail room once again. What could he do this time in order to get the information, and avoid being caught by Jade?

"No, I'm sorry. Really, it isn't you," Dorian apologized to the woman once again as she followed him back to the mail room. He threw the doors open and she apologized again on his heels, pleading him to leave.

"If my boss sees you back here, he is going to very upset Dorian!" She exclaimed.

"I understand that Bianca, but this set up is an unholy mess and I'll find the letter I'm looking for much quicker if you just let me find it myself," He reassured her. He cut her off and turned to face her. "Listen, this is a direct order from Weiss, and that's final." He left her behind and made his way back to the archives once again, pulling his box off of the shelf and proceeding to the exit. As he stepped through the doors he was greeted by Jade who was having her own altercation with the woman working the desk.

"Dorian! How did you ever make it past this insufferable employee?" Dorian smirked as he stopped in the small room.

"I didn't use any mind control on her if that's what you're asking," He told her. A grin crept across Jade's mouth.

"Well, aren't you a lively one today?" Jade exclaimed. She turned back to Bianca and Dorian continued on his way to Weiss's office.

"Mind control?!" He heard Bianca call out from the room. He stopped at Weiss's office door, the twins both posted outside and blocking his way in.

"I'm guessing you'd like in," Rowan stated snarling slightly. "Hmm?"

"Yes Rowan. Also, Jade was in the mail room looking for the two of you." Rowan scoffed.

"Why would she look for us in there?" Ivory asked.

"She wouldn't. I ran into her and she told me to send both of you to her." Rowan looked at Ivory and they left their post, heading to the mail room. Dorian opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him and locking it.

"That was fairly crafty of you Dorian," Weiss told him as he placed the box on her desk. He shrugged.

"I do my best." Dorian sat down across from Weiss and watched her as she signed the countless pages on her desk.

"Is there something else that I can help you with?" she asked him.

"I've been thinking. Why doesn't the cabinet ever let us sit in on the entire meetings?" Weiss looked at him and shook her head.

"What are you suggesting Dorian?" Weiss asked. Dorian shook his head.

"Nothing Weiss! It's nothing. I just… I just hope you aren't being played. I just don't want you to get hurt." Weiss stood up slowly and brushed off her dress.

"What are you saying? They tell me everything." Dorian stood up also.

"Did Jade tell you that she's breaking in a new angel tonight?" He asked her. Weiss looked him over, curiosity filled her facial expression as she slightly tilted her head.

"No, but she probably just hasn't gotten around to it." Dorian smiled softly and headed for the door.

"You're probably right. I'm going to go get you some coffee and I'll be back to go through some of those files with you." He left the room and Weiss sat back down, slamming her fists against her desk. Her argument with Blake played in her mind and she couldn't make it stop.

 _I won't let this become the White Fang!_

 _I'm going to help people like Ruby would have!_

 _Why won't you help me Blake? I only want to help people!_

 _At what cost Weiss? How far will you go to feel safe?_

"Stop it!" She shouted into the empty room. Her hands quivered and she placed them on her lap, closing her eyes tight. She wanted Ruby back. She needed Ruby.

* * *

"Ruby! Wait for just a second! Please!" Weiss called out as she followed her fiancé through the dense woods. Ruby finally came to a stop at the tree line, sitting on a stump as she waited for Weiss and watched the building below. It was a small log home and smoke rolled out of the chimney on top. "What is this place?"

"This is where we're gonna raise Amelia!" Ruby exclaimed. "This is the house I grew up in! Dad said we could move here if we want to! Isn't it great!?" Weiss smiled as she nudged Ruby to the edge of the stump and sat beside her.

"Where would we train Amelia out here?" Weiss asked.

"Come on silly! Really Weiss? We are surrounded by forest! There are Grimm all over the place! And an awesome fort that Yang and I used to go to when Yang would pull me around in the wagon when we would venture out and look for Raven! And I can bake her cookies all the time like my mother used to make for me! She'll be adorable! She'll have your eyes for sure! And then red hair with white highlights!" Ruby smiled as she leapt to her feet. "She'll be super-fast and she'll have your ability to make glyphs!" Weiss smiled up at Ruby, who had gotten carried away once again.

"You seem so sure about all of this," Weiss said laughing as she stood. "What if something happens to one of us?"

"Psh! Nothing will! We destroyed Cinder! What else can they throw at us?" Weiss grabbed Ruby and hugged her tight.

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you Ruby," Weiss told her. She pulled back and kissed Ruby's lips. "Maybe someday." Ruby giggled and kissed her again.

"I can teach you." Ruby let her go and ran back into the woods, angling towards the path that would take them to her childhood home. Weiss chased after her again and grabbed her hand as they met on the dirt pathway, walking towards Taiyang's. "What's your dream Weiss? What do you want more than anything?"

"I guess I've never really thought about it that hard. There was always what father wanted, and then there was my push to be a huntress. I had never thought past any of that really." Ruby looked at her.

"Now's your chance decide Weiss! What would make you the happiest?" Weiss thought it over for a moment.

"Being with you. It's all that I knew I wanted when I left Beacon at my father's request, and it's still all that I want now." Ruby smiled and shook her head, as if to scold Weiss. "I'm serious! You're the only one who ever looked past all of my flaws and loved me for who I was."

"I know all of that! But what do you want for us?" Weiss looked at the small home as they stopped in the front yard and looked it over.

"I want to be the heiress to the Schnee Company. I want Amelia to have the best childhood ever and I will be happy with whatever she chooses to do when she gets older! But I think she'll have your eyes and your hair with white tips perhaps. I can stay at home and cook while you go out and fight Grimm!" Ruby laughed lightly at first until she had to let go of Weiss's hand, laughing so hard that she began to cough. "What's so funny?"

"Weiss! We both know that you can't cook." Weiss folded her arms and pouted, turning away from Ruby.

"I can take lessons! Is that so hard to believe?" Weiss asked. Ruby shook her head.

"No. It isn't." Ruby continued for the house and the door swung open as Zwei ran out and leapt onto Ruby to greet her. He barked happily, wagging his butt and ran to Weiss, barking up at her as well. She smiled as she bent down and picked him up, cuddling him.

"Zwei! Who's a good boy?! You are! Has Taiyang been taking good care of you?" Weiss asked. He barked at her smiling and she set him back down on the ground. He ran in circles around them on the ground and Taiyang waved at them from the door.

"Come in girls! Supper's almost ready!" Ruby and Weiss stepped inside to find that Blake and Yang were already sitting at the dinner table.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed. Yang slid her chair out and ran to Ruby, hugging her. "I didn't know that you and Blake were going to be here!"

"Dad invited us! I didn't know that you two were going to be here!" Yang told her. Taiyang shrugged as he walked into the dining room with a large roast and set it in the middle of the table.

"You girls figured me out. I just thought it would be nice to get everyone here once for dinner. I haven't had the chance to meet Blake or Weiss yet and with Ruby getting married in a few weeks, I thought I might meet my future daughters-in-law beforehand." Yang and Ruby sat down and Weiss smiled at Taiyang.

"Why thank you Taiyang. Ruby's told me a lot about you."

"I'm just afraid that Rose Petals will become the White Fang," Blake said as she passed one of the dishes. Weiss looked across the table at Blake, only now the table was gone and they were standing at Summer and Ruby's graves on the cliff.

"I won't let that happen! I won't let this become the White Fang!" Weiss yelled out through the deafening silence. Yang helped Blake stand and they slowly walked back towards the woods, leaving Weiss by herself in the clearing. "Please Blake. Yang. Don't leave me."

"Ms. Schnee!" Someone shouted from the woods. Jade and the twins ran out to her. "We saw the whole thing! Have you considered our offer? With someone like you, we could really make a difference. We could change the world!"

 _At what cost Weiss? How far will you go to feel safe?_

Weiss stood in the doorway for a moment as Jade led her out of the small hut.

"What do you intend to do to Yang?" she asked Jade. "Under no circumstances are you to kill her. Is that understood?" Jade smirked chuckling. "I purely told everyone she died in hopes that Blake would give up on Nightshade and join us."

"Ms. Schnee, I can't make any promises. It isn't a completely fool proof system, people have died before when I try to turn them into angels." Weiss's eyes grew wide and she pinned Jade to a tree using a glyph.

"Who!?" Jade struggled under Weiss's power.

"Calm down, it isn't anyone that you ever knew."

"This isn't funny Jade." Weiss dropped her and she landed on the ground with a thud. "Don't let it happen again, or this project is over." Jade stood up and brushed herself off.

"Of course Ms. Schnee." The world spun around Weiss and she found herself face to face with Alice who had Velvet in a comatose behind her, a vial of the Faunus's blood in her hand.

"I'll send her on her way as soon as I've analyzed this vial. It's all that I require. I'm sorry that you weren't able to get the information that you were hoping for, but rest assured, Velvet's DNA will be the catalyst for an army of reconnaissance based soldiers the likes of which Remnant has never seen!" Alice smiled as she guided Weiss into the hallway and closed the door behind them. "You have my word Ms. Schnee. I'll have her out of here by the end of tomorrow."

"Was she in any pain?" Weiss asked. Alice stopped, confused by the question.

"I'm sorry, what did you ask?"

"Did you cause her any pain?" Weiss asked. Alice shrugged.

"Perhaps a little. She was frightened and she did struggle." Weiss frowned at the thought.

"Thank you Alice." She turned to walk away, the room transformed and she found that she was standing across from herself sitting in the desk.

 _How far Weiss? Is this what Ruby would want? Is the pain worth this false security?_

* * *

"Weiss, I'm back with your coffee," Dorian told her as he came into the room. Her eyes were glossy and she stared off into space. Dorian wondered what had come over her and he moved slowly to the desk, setting the coffee in front of her. "Are you okay Weiss?" She looked at him as she slowly came back to reality.

"I think so, yes. Thank you for asking Dorian." She took her coffee and took a sip of it, savoring the taste for a long moment. "This coffee is just what I needed."

"Glad I could help." He opened the box and placed the lid onto the floor, removing a handful of files as Jade, Ivory, and Rowan walked past the office window discussing something.

"I think I'm going to sit in on her breaking the new angel in tonight," Weiss told Dorian. His eyes met her and she nodded knowingly. They were in this together now, and they both felt as though something was off. There was a knock at her door and Dorian looked back over his shoulder at the door and it opened as Weiss stood up.

"Jade. How lovely to see you this morning," Weiss told her. "What brings you in here? And what's in the box if I can ask?" Jade offered a smile and opened her box, removing a few of the files and handing them over to Weiss. She flipped through them.

"Incredibly lengthy and needless security notes from over two years ago. Before we completely got the new server up and running we had someone write down everything that was suspicious on the video feeds at the end of everyday just in case the system crashed and we lost the footage from that day. Boring stuff really and I've been meaning to throw them out for quite some time. Just thought to get around to it this morning as I was passing through," Jade assured her. Weiss smiled up at her from the files and handed them back over to Jade.

"I guess I'll head down to the conference room and make sure everything is ready for the interview," Dorian said standing up and holding the door for Jade. She smirked at him, raising an eyebrow as she walked past him.

"Oh, I might let you know before I walk too far away Dorian." Jade said to him as he left the office.

"Let me know what?" asked Dorian.

"It would seem your interviewee is here," Jade told him heading down the hall. Dorian looked down the hallway towards the main entrance and then back at Jade.

"She's three hours early then!" Dorian yelled back. He headed down the hall and the buzzer sounded again in the lobby, the secretary must have left for a moment as she was nowhere to be found. Dorian grumbled under his breath and proceeded to the door, deactivating the locking mechanism and throwing the door open. He stood face to face with an Ursa that roared in his face and he scrambled back for a moment, pulling out his watch, ready to activate it. "Is this some sick joke Jade!?"

"Hey Aku! Easy! Calm down!" Came a voice from outside. A short woman leapt off of the beast and pushed him back. "This guy is giving me an interview! Are you trying to make me lose the job before I get it?!" Dorian slowly put his watch back and walked up to Ash as she blocked Aku.

"Is he with you?" Dorian asked. She nodded back at him and grunted, pushing back Aku.

"He's harmless really…" She grunted struggling against him. "I'm Ashley Rainier. I'm here for the stealth specialist position." She slapped Aku on the wrist and he drew his paw back, groaning. "Just stay out here. I'll be back in a while." Aku grunted and shook his head as he ran back to the parking lot and sat in the middle of it, arms folded.

"Errrrrrg." He complained.

"I know!" Ashley yelled back. She brushed past Dorian who was still looking out at Aku and let herself in. Dorian jumped, startled as he noticed her wandering about and he ran in after her, closing the main door behind.

"Anything I should know about you before we begin? You do realize that this is a stealth position, right?" He asked her as he led her down the hall for the interviewing room. She wore a black business dress which had holsters holding her batons.

"Of course I do! Anyways, I'm 21. I enjoy romance novels. I'd really be honored if I was able to work with Weiss Schnee. Oh, and I like watches," she added in at the end. Dorian reached in for his pocket watch but found it missing. Ash held it out to him. "I'm sorry, you were worried that I'm not stealthy enough?" Dorian took the watch back and brushed the front of his suit jacket. He smirked as they rounded the corner and he ushered her into the room.

"Ash? Can you hear me?" asked Coco over the headset that they had given her. Blake sat beside Coco adjusting her own earpiece and holding her breath. "Just reply with something that'll let me know you can hear."

"I really hope this works," Blake exhaled. Ashley sat down at the table across from Dorian.

"So, let's get on with it then," Ashley told him. He chuckled and sat.

"Quite eager aren't you?" He asked. Coco took off her glasses and turned away from Blake, thinking hard. "I have to say that your resumé is pretty impressive for being such a young huntress." Coco put her glasses back on and grabbed Blake's arm, shaking it.

"I know that voice! He's that damn huntsman that teleported and blinded me!" Coco shouted.

"Calm down Coco," Blake instructed her.

"Thank you. I have gone on more missions than any of my peers, but I did learn from the best at Signal while I was still attending," She told him.

"Who was that?" He asked her.

"Ash, you can't tell him…" Coco began to say.

"Qrow Branwen." Ash said sternly. Blake and Coco looked at each other with wide eyes, sitting motionless for a moment. "No one is better with a weapon than Professor Branwen."

"I see." Dorian replied marking something down on his clipboard as he turned slightly in his chair. "Has he ever mentioned anything about a group known as Nightshade? Anything at all?" Ashley pursed her lips together and sat up straight.

"Our relationship was strictly that of a student and a teacher. If it wasn't related to the lesson, he didn't tell me. Professor Branwen was always quite vague in his teachings, and he is always insufferably drunk." She leaned slightly over the table, trying to view his clipboard, but he pulled back slowly. "Is this going to affect my chances of getting a job?"

"No! Not at all. It's just Nightshade has been a thorn in our side for a while and we need to do everything we can to ensure that they can't stop us from helping people." He told her.

"Why would they want to stop you from helping people?" The question caught him off guard.

"Careful Ash," Coco told her.

"I don't like the way this is going…" Blake told Coco.

"Why would someone want to keep Rose Petals from doing all of the good it's been doing?" Ashley asked him again. He looked at her, eyes wondering slightly.

"Maybe someone wants to see us fail." He looked at her. "Someone wants to see Weiss fail."

"Doesn't Weiss ever talk about Blake? Does that sound like something she'd do?" Dorian's eyes softened and het set the clipboard on his lap, staring deep into her eyes.

"What are you suggesting?" There was a knock on the door and Jade let herself in, sitting beside Dorian. She looked at the two of them and then down at Dorian's notes.

"Hope you two don't mind me sitting in on your interview," she stated. They both sat back in their chairs and Dorian cleared his throat. Jade picked Qrow's name out of the notes in front of Doiran and glanced up at him. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"

 _Watch for a moment, you might just learn something._ The words echoed through Coco's head and she pointed at Neptune.

"Go back into the file room and see if there is anything about Jade Datura in there," she yelled at him. He leapt up and scrambled into the back room.

"The snake woman from the wedding?" Blake asked. Coco nodded.

"I had a bad feeling about her back then, and it hasn't gotten any better."

"But we already knew that she was working for Rose Petals," Blake told Coco.

"I think we're missing something with her."

"No, feel free to join us. I'm Ashley." Ash told Jade as she extended a hand to shake Jade's. Jade sat looking at her hand for a moment before pushing it away.

"You'll have to forgive me, I don't do handshakes. Nice to meet you Ashley. My name is Jade. I'm head of security here at Rose Petals and rest assured that I'm only going to allow the best of the best around Weiss. Dorian feels the same way about our new hires, isn't that right?"

"Oh I'm sure that's true. You seem like you're very good at what you do," Ashley told her. Jade leaned back and smiled, casting a side glance at Dorian who was still deep in thought.

"You'll have to forgive him, he really doesn't know how to act around attractive women. So the Grimm out there, he is your pet?" Jade asked.

"Yeah. Aku is pretty great. I don't think I would have gotten this far without him." Jade took Dorian's notes and jotted a few things down.

"How did you manage to tame him?" Jade asked. Ash giggled.

"Funny story actually-" Jade's scroll rang and she held up a finger, silencing Ashley and taking the call. Ashley looked over at Dorian who was looking at her again, eyes searching and reading her over.

"Anything?" asked Coco. Neptune crashed around in the other room, a large slam echoing out into the room. "Neptune!?"

"Ouch! Sorry, I'm fine! Yeah, I got nothing. All that we know is that she's Faunus," Neptune called back.

"And that she used to be White Fang," Coco said thinking aloud. Coco looked at Blake, her eyes prying as Blake stood up slowly and shook her head.

"No Coco. I know what you're thinking, and I don't know that it's a good idea." Blake protested.

"We'll bring him in and Neo can put him in the panic room right away. We need to find out if he knows anything about Jade," Coco explained. Blake paced back and forth and ran her hands through her hair.

"You want to bring Adam in here? Am I getting that right?" Blake asked. Coco nodded. Blake shook her head, unsure of how to proceed. "It's a bad idea Coco. A really bad idea!"

"True, but it also might be our last chance at getting an edge of Rose Petals!" Blake groaned in protest, her nerves beginning to act up and remembering all of the pain that Adam had caused her in the past.

"Fine. Fine! We'll send a team to go get him tonight and then you can ask him all you want in the morning, but if he's not out of here by noon tomorrow, the result won't be pretty."

"You gonna kill him?" Blake shook her head.

" I don't plan to, but you don't know Adam like I do. The longer he's here, the better chance he has of escaping." Coco waved Blake back to her seat.

"Sorry about that. My students needed something. What did you say your semblance was again?" Jade asked.

"I have the ability to give other things aura. Or extend their aura if they already have some," Ash explained. Jade blinked for a moment before standing and grabbing Dorian's arm and pulling him to his feet.

"If you could excuse the two of us for just a moment, we'll be right back." Jade told her. She dragged Dorian out into the hallway and closed the door behind, leaving them in the middle of the corridor, just out of view of Weiss's office, and turned so that Ashley couldn't read their lips. "I've heard enough and I will agree that her resume is quite surreal. She's almost overqualified I think. If she's able to pass Joseph's test, I think we should let her in." Dorian remembered what he had seen that morning in her box with the artificial aura and understood her sudden interest.

"I'm not sure that she's quite the fit that we're looking for," Dorian told Jade as he headed back for the room. "The vote has to be unanimous, and I'm just not convinced yet." Jade grabbed his arm stopping him.

"I'll do anything." She told him. She pulled him close and he felt her hot breath on his ear. "Anything." She looked him over and played with the button on his jacket. "I'm sure that we can arrange something Dorian. Have you ever been with a woman before?" Dorian slid back slightly, freeing himself and fixing his button. He shuddered and inhaled deeply. He knew that she had an undefinable control over men, but he never imagined it was that bad. He had come close to caving and she bit her lip. "What are you waiting for? It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime has presented itself to you. Now you just have to take it." The door opened behind him and he turned around to see Ash peering out at them from the room.

"Are the two of you coming back by chance?" He looked back at Jade who was walking back towards him now, a coy look plastered on her face.

"Just give us a moment longer," Jade said reassuring the girl. Ash stepped back into the room and closed the door and Dorian found a dagger at his throat. "If you say yes, I'll let you cash in that favor later if you'd like. Plus, I won't kill you." Dorian sighed, filled with satisfaction that he had temporarily had control over Jade.

"If the others agree with letting her in, I guess she can join. She still has to pass Joseph's test first, and you know how hard he is defeat in a one on one," Dorian said as he opened the door to the room and motioned for Ashley to follow them.

"I think she'll be fine," Jade said smiling warmly at the girl.

"I think you're crazy," Dorian replied as they entered the elevator and made their way up to the second floor. Jade shook her head and the elevator opened. They led Ash down the hallway and threw open the doors to the training room. Ash looked at both of them with wide eyes and Jade nodded at her.

"Go ahead." Ashley stepped in and spotted two bird Faunus with wings and a man with a ram's horn. "Where's Alice?"

"Her words were, and I quote, 'Tell Jade whatever she needs to hear so that I can stay in the lab,'" Ivory told Jade. Jade sighed in frustration and moved to the panel on the wall, adjusting it so that the room resembled a battleground. The floor became an uneven terrain and rocky. Ashley stood beside Dorian as Joseph walked to the far side of the room.

"Now what?" Ashley asked looking up at Dorian. He stepped back so that he was beside Jade and nodded towards Joseph.

"Now you fight." Dorian said.

"They sure have a strange way of going about interviewing people," Blake said to Coco. Coco nodded in agreement. Joseph cracked his neck to both sides and gave a twisted grin.

"If it's too much for you to handle little girl, you can give up at any point during the fight." Joseph called out to her. She cracked a slight smile and removed her tonfas, spinning them in her hands.

"Same goes for you too!" He chuckled and charged at her, full speed and unstoppable. She leapt into the air with moments to spare and spun herself about quickly, landing on his shoulders. Her tonfas crashed against the sides of his head, but he seemed unamused and pulled her off, throwing her towards the twins. They scrambled out of the way and as she found her feet she found Joseph charging again. She laughed and dove out of the way again, leaping to her feet and firing fire Dust shots at Joseph. They slammed into him and he shrugged them off, though he was impressed with the girl's speed. She ran away from him as he sprinted for her. He threw his arm out to clothesline her and she slid beneath it, reversing her momentum. She slammed her tonfas together and flames flowed freely from the end of the weapon, growing larger and larger until they swallowed Joseph.

The other cabinet members watched for a moment in disbelief before Joseph flew out from the inferno and slammed his fist into Ashley's gut, sending her sliding back across the floor. Her foot caught in one of the battleground's crevices and she fell, rolling over quickly and avoiding being kicked. She pulled her tonfas apart and he leapt above her, intending to stomp on her. She blocked both feet with the batons and pushed up, throwing him onto his back. She stood again and spun her tonfas, slowly backing away from him.

"Had enough?" She asked him. He laughed as he struggled to stand, grunting as he lifted himself up.

"The problem is, we've already seen all of your tricks, haven't we?" He asked. His cloak lit up with gravity Dust and he slammed into her tonfas as she braced for the attack. She flew through the air and slammed off of the wall, landing on her feet for a moment but her momentum was too much paired with the pain and she fell onto the floor. She lay on her chest for a moment as he lumbered closer, his cloak lighting up with ice. "Is there anything else you'd like to try before we send you back on your way?" She rolled onto her back and attempted to jump up, but Joseph's boot pinned her on the ground now. "Well?"

"I did always wonder what this would do." She reached quickly up under her dress and slammed the gravity cartridges into her weapon, firing at Joseph and sending him through the air. She fired the tonfas behind her to launch herself towards his landing. He landed upright and spun around, swinging for her. Her tonfas crashed off of his blows, bruising his forearms. Jade watched with intrigue, glancing over at Dorian who also seemed impressed. She connected them together and fired directly into his chest, sending him across the room with alarming speed as he was planted in the wall, his aura shattering as his body slouched. Ivory and Rowan stood on the side, mouths agape, before looking at each other and running over to Joseph.

"Well, if no one else thinks so, I'll be the only one to say that this was the most entertaining fight we've had in quite some time," Jade said. She wrapped her arm over Ashley's shoulders and pulled her close beside her. "I like this one Dorian. We should keep her." She watched as Dorian looked down at Ash and then back at her and she licked her lips.

"Alright already. Yes, she can stay." Joseph slowly trudged over to the three of them and shoved Jade back, grabbing Ash by her dress's shoulder straps. He knelt down and looked her in the eyes.

"You got lucky. It won't happen again." He smirked and stood, shoving Ash back at Jade and leaving the room. Dorian, Jade and Ashley headed out of the room.

"Should we take her to see Weiss?" Dorian asked. Jade laughed and pulled Ashley down the hall with her as Dorian continued for the elevator. "Hey!"

"I didn't get to hear the rest of her story about how she tamed the Ursa. We'll meet back up with you later." Dorian watched in disbelief as they headed for the mess hall and he returned to Weiss in her office.

"How did it go?" Weiss asked as she filtered through more paperwork. Dorian sat down and looked hard at Weiss who felt his stare and looked up from her work. "What?"

"She's going to be joining us," he told her. She tilted her head slightly.

"That's good, isn't it?" She asked him.

 _Doesn't Weiss ever talk about Blake? Does that sound like something she'd do?_

"Of course." Dorian looked back at the door to make sure that no one was standing there. "Weiss, weren't you and Blake friends?" Weiss stopped and set down her pen, looking at him sternly.

"Yes…"

"Would she have done anything to hurt you?" He asked Weiss. Weiss sighed and returned to her paperwork.

"No. Not back then, but it would seem that she's changed and I have to accept that fact. If she wants to stop me from doing good, I'm going to fight back."

 _Why would someone want to keep Rose Petals from doing all of the good it's been doing?_

 _It would seem she's changed._

 _People don't change son… Not entirely. There are good natured people and there are those who are lost. The good only turn in the wake of tragedy, and your father never suffered such a tragedy. He was lost to begin with…_

* * *

"I have a what? What did you call it again mother?" Dorian asked as his mother straightened his bow tie and combed his hair up again. She had kind light pink eyes and white hair, and was the most beautiful woman he had ever known. He was young at this time, no more than 10 years old.

"A semblance. Only huntresses and huntsmen are given such a gift, and it would seem that you have been blessed with that gift Dorian," She told him as she looked him over. She smiled softly at him and he smiled back. His mother's smiles always made him feel warm and happy inside. He laughed as his mother handed him a small package that was wrapped in brown paper.

"What is it mother?" He asked her as his eyes grew wide. She sat down beside him and pat the ground beside her, waiting for him to join her on the floor. She still smiled and nodded.

"Open it Dorian. I've been waiting until you discovered your power to give it to you. I hope you like it," she said softly. Dorian could barely contain himself and he shredded the paper apart, causing his mother to laugh gently. She reached over and helped him remove the ribbon. He pulled the small box open slowly and carefully examined the pocket watch as he removed it. On the outside was the silhouette of a Beowolf. On in the inside was a picture of him with his mother.

"Mother, it's a watch!" He exclaimed. He looked it over and thrust it into the air, smiling and laughing. He held it close and kissed his mother on the cheek. "I will cherish it forever!" She stood up and he continued to examine it before looking up at her. "Can everyone control time?" She giggled at him softly and kissed his forehead as she helped him stand and made her way into the kitchen. He followed her, clutching the watch as though his life depended on it.

"No Dorian. It's a special semblance that only you and your father could do," She explained. She moved to the sink and began washing the dishes. Dorian placed the watch into his pocket inside of his coat and stepped onto the stool beside his mother so that he could help dry dishes. "Only the members of the Bradbury family can alter time, and it's one of the most powerful weapons a person can have. But you're a good boy, and I know that you would never use it for evil." He looked up at her as he wiped the plate she had handed him.

"Was father a bad person?" He asked her. She turned away from him slightly and focused on the dish in her hand.

"Your father…" The words were hard for her to muster and Dorian stared up at her in wonder. "I don't think your father was a bad man. I think… I think maybe he was just lost. He didn't know how to be good. Maybe no one had ever told him or showed him how to be good…" The words were choking her and she fell to her knees. Dorian threw his arms around her.

"Mother!" He shouted grabbing her.

"I'm okay Dorian. I just need a moment." She tried to stop herself from crying, but the tears would not listen to her refusal.

"One day I'll go back and teach father how to be good." Dorian held her tightly as she began sobbing. "Then he won't leave with Mother Autumn." The pain gripped her tighter now… Dorian had been so young when it happened, so he didn't remember that she wasn't his real mother, Autumn was.

"I wish it were that easy Dorian. People don't change son… Not entirely. There are good natured people and there are those who are lost. The good only turn in the wake of tragedy, and your father never suffered such a tragedy. He was lost to begin with." She told him. She slowly stood and wiped her eyes.

"But can't the lost become good?" She smiled weakly at him.

"Only if there was good there to begin with." She knelt down and he wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "But don't let that stop you from trying." She hugged him tight.

"What was Mother Autumn like?" She caressed his cheek and smiled brightly at him.

"You have her eyes and her smile." He laughed and helped her stand again.

"I hope I get to meet her someday." His mother smiled and turned back to the sink.

* * *

The group in the situation room shared handshakes and high fives as the news was shared the Ashley was on the inside, and they had hired her for the position. Coco and Blake headed to the kitchen and Blake sat at the small table. Coco opened the fridge and reached inside.

"Milk?" She asked Blake. Blake rolled her eyes and scoffed sarcastically, a smirk tugging at her mouth's corners. "Is that a yes?"

"Yeah, why not?" Coco removed the milk and moved to the coffee pot next as she started a fresh pot. Neo appeared beside Blake with Ruby and teleported away again after giving a bow. "Hey Ruby, what brings you out here this afternoon? Feeling better since you passed out?" Ruby sat down beside Blake.

"I feel 100%! Neo told me what the plan is and I want to help go get Adam!" Ruby exclaimed. Coco looked back over her shoulder at Blake and Blake smiled, shrugging.

"Sure, why not?" Blake offered. Ruby's eyes grew wide.

"Really?!" Ruby asked. Blake nodded as Coco arrived back at the table, handing her and Ruby a glass of milk. She walked back over to the counter to pour her coffee. Ruby slammed the glass of milk and wiped her chin, leaving the empty cup on the table as she took off into the hallway. Coco took a sip of her black coffee before returning to Blake and sitting where Ruby had.

"Who are you?" asked Coco.

"What?" Blake asked laughing.

"Don't push yourselves too hard! And now, oh yeah sure, send our most valuable asset into the field to go get a dangerous prisoner from a prison that's not just gonna hand him over. I'm not following your logic at all." Blake took a sip of her milk and set the glass back down.

"I know how strong she is. That's why I want to send her to go get him. Yang, Ironwood, and I almost didn't pull it off. If he does manage to get out of his restraints, I have faith that Ruby will stop him." Blake smirked. "That and there's just something about Ruby that is hard to say no to."

"There's just something about Ruby in general," Coco said as she looked deep into the coffee in her mug. "Blake listen…"

"Let me start Coco." Coco looked at Blake who was looking directly at her. "I never should have dragged you both into this."

"We wanted to help Blake! Don't feel bad! I'm sorry that I blamed you for Velvet being taken, it was my fault really-"

"Nonsense. Some of it was my fault for letting her go." Blake stated. Coco looked at her coffee and then back up at Blake.

"What did she say to convince you to let her go with?" Blake's bow shifted and she looked away. "Blake?"

"I promised Velvet not to tell you," Blake told her. It was a lie, but Blake decided that it would be easier than telling Coco and causing her unnecessary hurt all over again. Coco nodded, tears forming in her eyes as she took another drink. She stood up with her mug and placed a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"I guess we should get back at it then," Coco told her. Blake looked up, heartbreak written on her face as well, and she nodded in agreement.

* * *

Things! Lots of things happened! Consistency of length of chapters wasn't something I thought about when writing it all at once and I apologize, but on the bright side you can rest assured that this story **won't** end up being "X" amount of chapters with no ending. Next week we'll see why Neo and Yang were so close to each other in Chapter 21 - Baked Alaska! (Shout out to my girlfriend, alywint23, for writing the majority of next week's flashback scene!)

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	25. Chapter 21 - Baked Alaska

Note: Just so that no one is lost out the gate, this chapter will contain a flashback with in a flashback. (Inception orchestra blares in the background). Thank you.

* * *

Neo walked through the hall as the team scrambled about to prepare to retrieve Adam from prison, weaving through everyone as they rushed by. She noted Blake's door was open and walked into the room, approaching Blake's bedroom and grabbing the handle. As she began to pull it shut she stopped short, noticing one of Yang's Ember Celica gauntlets on the dresser beside Blake's bed. Neo stepped into the room, checking behind her to make sure that no one had followed her in. Neo picked it up and her mind flashed back to that night…

 **(Flashback)**

"Yang!" Blake called out desperately as Coco, Neo, Sun, and herself wandered through the backstreets of Vale, looking for any sign of the blonde. Panic had set in several hours ago when they had set out originally to try and find Yang, but now Blake felt herself growing frantic.

"So what happened exactly again? I just want to make sure everything's straight in my head," Coco shouted out to Blake from down the block. Blake stopped for a moment, peering into the dark alley, before continuing on her way. Neo was several feet in front of her, teleporting up to rooftops for a better view on occasion, before returning to the ground and checking every stoop and window they passed.

"I sent Yang out here on a recon mission a few days ago. After a while she went radio silent and wouldn't reply to me, but I knew that she was okay, because the tracker in her ear piece was still active. Someone shut it off a few hours ago and I can't imagine why Yang would turn it off completely." Blake peered down another back street and kept walking as Neo peered down the next. She stopped in her tracks, dropping her parasol and sprinting down the pavement. "Neo?!"

"What is it?" Coco called out, jogging to catch up with Sun. Neo stood several feet away from the scene, covering her mouth as she quivered slightly in fear. Had they taken away the only person that cared about her? It was like she was losing Roman all over again, and she wasn't sure she could take it. Her knees hit the ground as Blake slowly walked past her and bent down, gingerly lifting Yang's mechanical limb in her hands, one half of Ember Celica still attached. Bodies of Rose Petal members littered the alley and Coco noted one that was trying to crawl away. She ran to him and picked him up by the neck, carrying him over to Blake. "Where's Yang?!"

"She found out too much and they got to her. Managed to take her down, though it cost us about 20 men," he groaned. Neo's eyes darted to the man and vengeance filled her as she teleported away. This man was responsible for Yang being kidnapped! "We've got more men than you could ever possibly hope to defeat. Why do you keep trying?" Blake slowly stood, slipping the gauntlet off of the arm.

"I don't believe Weiss is evil. I think she's just afraid and confused, and I plan on bringing her back," Blake told him as she finished slipping Ember Celica onto her own arm. "No matter how many of you I have to beat into a pulp." Blake slammed her fist into his chest, firing and sending him flying from Coco's grip. He rolled across the black top and came to a stop, blood trickling now from his mouth. He coughed. "You took my wife, and I can't forgive you for that. So until you talk, I'm going to cause you as much pain as I can." She lifted him up and propped him against the brick wall behind him. "You're going to wish you were dead." She stepped back from the wall.

"Neo!" Came a shout from Sun behind Blake. She turned in time to watch Neo run past her, blade in hand.

"Neo wait!" Neo slammed her blade through the man's neck, blood spraying everywhere as she lifted him above her head on the pike. Both of her eyes were pink and filled with a fury that Blake had never seen before as Neo's mouth skewered into an evil grin, blood splattering all over the girl as he coughed again, the sword blocking his windpipe. She held him there for a long moment, hoping that before he would die on her blade he would feel the same pain that she felt. "Neo…"

The blood trickled down her blade and ran down her arms, running the entire length of her body and she loved it. She could feel Roman standing beside her, giving a chuckle as he slowly circled her.

"Great work Neo! I think that you and I are going to have a great time together!" He told her as he moved close. She felt his cane touch the inside of her thigh as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "How did it feel? Wasn't it exhilarating?" She smiled and shuddered as he kissed her neck, the man still impaled on the end of her weapon. Roman disappeared and was replaced by Yang, who grabbed her hand and helped her to slowly ungrip the parasol.

"We shouldn't enjoy killing people Neo. We should only do so when we've ran out of any other options," Yang explained to her. The flashbacks faded and Neo was returned to the alley, the blood still running down her body. She looked back at Blake and her eyes both became brown and she turned back to the man she had killed and dropped her sword, letting him fall to the ground. A slight shock set in as Neo realized that she had killed their chance of finding Yang right away. She looked at Blake again, eyes pleading as she threw her arms around her, in an attempt to beg her for forgiveness.

"It's okay," Blake choked out through the tears that had begun falling from her eyes. Neo wept silently into Blake's leg, shaking her head in refusal to accept the fact that they had taken Yang. Yang had understood her when no one else could, and when no one else would bother to. Neo slowly found her feet and stumbled over to Bumblebee throwing her arms over the bike, and weeping again. Yang was the closest thing that Neo had ever had to a sister. The scene faded from Neo's mind, and she was taken even further back…

* * *

Yang laid in bed, not really thinking about anything in particular: Actually, she wasn't really feeling anything either. She was numb. She felt like she had lost everything. It had only been a week or so since the attack had happened, but it felt like months to Yang. Ruby had left shortly after that, and even though Yang knew and understood that she had to leave, it felt like a betrayal. Her father had even given up on her, deciding that leaving her alone was the best option. Weiss had gone back to Atlas with her family, and Blake? Well, no one really knew what happened to her, only that she left.

So she was alone. Yang felt her depression overwhelm her once again as, for just a moment, she thought that she had felt something with her right hand. Tears welled in her eyes as she imagined what her future could possibly be like now. She couldn't fight for sure, so what good would she be to anyone? The tears began to slid down her cheeks. The depression that she had gone into after the attack was immobilizing. The thought of living itself was daunting at times. Nothing she did felt like it was worthwhile. Turning away from the window, Yang snaked her left arm around herself, as though she could physically hold all the pain she was feeling inside. She sunk down again into her bed, burying herself under her covers and unconsciously curling into the fetal position as she did so. Her thoughts ran wild and her mood darkened causing her silent tears to turn to sobs. Her mind quickly went into a downward spiral and she was completely oblivious to everything other than her pain.

Neo sat on the sturdy tree branch that loomed outside of Yang's window, dangling one of her legs as she twisted her parasol around in her hands. She looked on with curiosity at the blonde girl that she had fought not so long ago. She had been so fiery when they had fought, strutting right up to her without a second thought to the consequences. Granted, it wasn't the best strategy, being that Neo was someone that she had never encountered before, but Neo admired the confidence that she had portrayed. Since that day, Neo had secretly kept tabs on the group of girls, especially Yang. She had come to admire the entire group. Ruby's innocence, Weiss's authority, Blake's intelligence, and Yang's confidence in every situation. The girls had grown on her more and more as time passed.

Despite owing Roman a debt which is why she had fought alongside him, he had started to care for her as more than an associate, but as a friend, if not more. Now that he was dead however, she was free to choose a new path. She never did trust Cinder and curiosity had brought her to the blonde's residence. She had been watching Yang for a few days now; observing her most of her day. The poor girl was really depressed about her lost arm, it was thick in the air even outside her room. Her father seemed anxious as well, not knowing how to help his daughter. Neo let out a sigh as she remembered back to her own loneliness. As she grew older, she had gotten used to being alone, but it definitely wasn't something that she would wish for anyone to experience. If it hadn't been for Roman, she would have been alone. He was the only one to ever really understand her, even though she didn't talk. He didn't look down on her or grow frustrated with her. Neo smiled warmly as she remembered Roman. She knew what she had to do.

"Huh?" Yang muttered as she heard something coming from the window. She looked around only to find a single red carnation on her windowsill. Yang pulled herself up into a sitting position on the bed before standing and moving towards the window. She gently picked up the flower, looking at it with wonder. "How did this get here?" she mused out loud, turning the fragile flower in her hands.

"Yang?" She turned to see her dad standing in the doorway. The quizzical look was apparent on his face, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt something other than sadness. "What is it?"

"Hey Dad. I'm not sure. I thought I heard something so I went to see what it was and found this." She said turning towards him. She was still delicately holding the flower in her hands. Taiyang smiled, happy to finally see something other than the overwhelming hopelessness on his daughter's face, even if it was only a fraction of her normal range of emotions.

"Come on, how about we get a glass and some water to put that flower in."

"Uh, sure, I guess." Yang replied, allowing her dad to lead her out of the room.

Yang was sitting on her bed, looking at the flower. It was a brilliant shade of red and the frills kind of reminded her of Ruby's battle skirt if she used her imagination. She smiled a bit at the thought. She really missed having her sister around. She looked out the window at the sun as it set, thinking about the rest of her team. She missed Blake and Weiss too. Maybe she should have gone with Ruby, or went to find Blake or something. But what use would she be without her arm?

Before she even had a chance to fully comprehend the thought, she noticed something appear out of the corner of her eye. Her battle reflexes took over and she immediately got into a fighting position. Her eyes widened as she realized what, or more accurately who, it was that she saw. Neo stood before her, parasol twirling over her shoulder. A warm smile lit her face as she waited for Yang to say something.

"You!" Yang shouted, recognizing the smaller girl before her immediately. "What do you want?!" Yang slid her left arm into Ember Celica that was resting on her nightstand and swung, shattering the clone. She felt Neo grab her from behind and they were teleported out into the yard where Yang glanced around her, processing what had just happened. "Why are you here?!" Yang swung furiously with her left arm, missing several uppercuts and jabs. She fired at Neo and the shots slammed against her parasol. Neo held out another carnation and Yang froze for a moment. "You left the flower?" She was puzzled.

Neo nodded and held up her scroll to Yang, the device on and a page open detailing the confirmation of Roman's death. Yang read it over and glanced around the scroll looking at Neo. Both of her eyes were brown now and she looked sad as she looked up at Yang. Yang sighed and rubbed the back of her head, looking away from Neo and focusing on the grass growing around the house.

"I'm sorry for your loss Neo, but I don't know what it is you want," Yang told her as she started to head back for the house. Neo teleported in her way and held a file out to Yang, holding it open so that she could check over the contents. It detailed where Blake had gone and that she was taking down the White Fang from the inside. Yang felt her eyes moistening and she looked at Neo who also had tears in her own eyes. Yang looked at the file again and slammed her fist through it, the papers and photos scattering everywhere as Yang stood with her fist extended, chest heaving. "She left me! Everyone leaves me when I need them most, and it's unbearable!" Neo looked at the pages as they settled on the ground and threw the file down.

Neo opened her mouth as though she was going to speak and she fell to her knees. She snatched up a photo from the grass and shook it at Yang. Her eyes pleaded and Yang looked down at her with rage. Neo was slightly terrified. She couldn't speak to let Yang know how important it was to her that they go find Blake. It would give Neo people to be around, and it would get Yang back to Blake, they could both be happy! Yang clinched her jaw and her fist.

"No." Yang walked past Neo back towards the house and slammed the door behind her as she entered back in. She passed her father in the hallway and opened her bedroom door, ready to shut herself off from the world again.

"She's right you know," he spoke softly before she could slam the door. Yang looked at him, fury still filling her. Her expression became that of confusion. She flailed her arms, closing the door behind her and staying out in the hallway with him.

"What? Dad, you don't even know her! She tried to kill me once! She would have succeeded if mom hadn't stepped in!" Yang shouted at him. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, unphased by her tantrum.

"You're exactly like you mother. When things get too hard to handle, you think it's just easier to shut yourself off from everyone who cares about you," he told her. Her eyes became red and she marched up to him, stomping out the last step and her hair flew back and ignited.

"I am not my mother!" She swung at him and he caught her fist. Nothing happened and Yang looked back and forth between her fist and Taiyang. "I'm not mom…"

"You're acting like her though. When she had you and life became stressful with balancing time between you and saving the world, your mother stopped doing both and simply left, not wanting to have to face reality. She thought it would be easier to ignore both and pretend neither had happened. I know her too well though. That's why she saved you Yang. Deep down she's hurting and she wants to know you more than anything, but she doesn't want you to be angry. But she knows you will be and you have the right to be. You need to face reality and go find Blake and take that girl out there with you." Taiyang slowly lowered his daughter's fist and threw his arms around her. She sobbed into his shoulder.

"I just want the pain to go away. You're right. You've been right, it's not my arm. I'm just afraid of what might happen next." He let her pull away and looked her in the eyes. "Everything makes me nervous! I jump every time that damn bird lands on the branch outside of the window and causes it to brush the glass! I jump at night sometimes at the shadows in the woods! I… I'm just not ready…" She shoved back from him and threw her door open, slamming it behind her and slouching against the door, crying into her right shoulder as she slammed her left hand against the floor.

Taiyang shook his head as he moved to the door and placed his hand on the knob, but didn't try to open it. He heard Yang jump to hear feet and stomp across her room, pulling her shades shut.

"Go away!" Yang screamed at the window. Taiyang released the handle and quickly ran down the hall, cutting across the living room and leaving the house.

"Stop!" He shouted out at Neo who was running down the path. She turned back for a moment to look at him, tripping over a slight rut in the path and losing the folder, the contents spilling everywhere again. She lay on the ground, holding her ankle as he walked closer. She looked up at him in fear, covering her face with her hands and bringing her knees up to her chest, preparing for him to attack. She shook for a moment, wondering when he would strike, before finally peering up through her fingers to see that he was no longer standing above her. She looked around trying to spot him.

"You must be Neo," he said. She looked above her, her view of him upside down, but she was able to make out that he was picking up her parasol. He examined it for a long moment before he brought it back to her. She found her hand and knees, standing up gingerly as her ankle was still causing her a tinge of pain. He held the umbrella out in both hands and she tilted her head slightly, looking him over before she slowly took the weapon back. "Here, let me help you with these papers." She watched for a moment as he gathered a few of them up, wondering why he would be so inclined to help her. She bent down and picked up the file, looking into the bottom of it and browsing the few pictures that hadn't fallen out. "Can I ask you something?"

She looked up from the photos, nodding her head slowly as he stood directly in front of her, holding a stack of papers out towards her. She took them and placed them in the folder.

"I saw the way Yang reacted when she found that flower that you left for her. I haven't seen her in such a state of wonder in a long time. She even smiled slightly when I mentioned that it looked like Ruby's dress," Taiyang told her chuckling slightly. He looked up from the papers and looked deep into Neo's eyes, his face pleading her towards something. "Please keep trying. Don't give up on her yet. That's her biggest fear. It's not her fault really, but when things get rough, the people in Yang's life have always left. Give it a few more days?" Neo understood where he was coming from. Neither of them had ever chosen loneliness, but it always managed to find them.

She nodded at him and he smiled, extending his hand. She looked at his hand and looked back up at him, slowly extending her own and shaking it.

"I can't thank you enough. I'd like to tell you that you could stay in the house, but if Yang find out, I don't think I'd ever be able to repair the place," he told her laughing. "There's a small treehouse down that path if you're so inclined to stay on the island. I can bring you some blankets and whatever else you might need." She nodded in understanding and he left her, heading back to the house and leaving her to wander down the path towards the fort. It was further back than she would have imagined and an old, rusted, red wagon sat outside of it. Neo looked at it, wondering what purpose it had once been used for, before turning to the old worn boards that had been nailed to the side of the tree.

Neo opted to teleport in, stumbling slightly as the small enclosure shifted beneath her feet for a moment before settling. There were two sleeping bags that had undoubtedly rotted out after being left up there for years on end, which she pushed out of the way, uncovering a small lock box. Neo picked it up, brushing off the debris that had settled on it and prying it open, the lock was rusted out. Inside was a letter that was clearly written by a child, stained with tears, asking for her mother to come back. It was from Yang to Summer. It explained how Yang wanted Summer to know that she was hurting and wanted her to come back.

Neo recalled the same feeling when she was orphaned, she recalled the bandits killing her mother for something simple. They had told her not to say a word, they planned on doing horrible things to her. However, her mother did speak, She told Neo to run. It was at that moment they killed her mother. It was at that moment that she was forced to be alone until Roman found her. It was at that moment that she chose never to speak again. Neo trembled as she dropped the box, something had moved behind her. She withdrew her blade, spinning to find Taiyang at the top of the ladder, a blanket and pillow under his arms.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Taiyang told her as he left the bedding and left the hut, leaping to the ground. She watched as he left before she grabbed the blanket up, spreading it out and falling asleep, dreaming of her mother and Roman.

"Morning Dad!" Yang called out from the kitchen as he passed by in the hallway. He yawned as he stretched, slightly confused to find Yang up before he was, and cooking of all things.

"Are you feeling okay Yang?" He asked. She draped a towel over her right shoulder and gave him a thoughtful look.

"I feel… I feel okay. As long as I stay here with you, I'm safe. I think I'm starting to see that," she told him. He hid his smile as he walked into the living room.

"Glad to hear it," he told her. He moved to the living room before he heard her shuffling quickly in the kitchen. "You sure you're alright?" Yang stormed out of the house without saying a word to him.

"What are you still doing here?" Yang asked as Neo walked down the path towards her. The night before had only made Neo more determined to see through her plans of getting Yang to join her in helping Blake, whether either of them wanted it or not. Neo waved the file in the air and Yang glanced up at it before looking back at Neo. "I told you to go away, I don't want to go find Blake!" She ran at Neo, smashing through the clone. Neo teleported, hooking Yang's arm with the parasol and leaping, both of her feet slamming into Yang and causing her to stumble away. Neo backflipped, landing on her feet and unhooking her weapon, allowing Yang to fall to the ground. She rushed Yang who threw her hands up, blocking her face. Neo's mind flashed back to Roman, looming over her as she found herself in the same position.

"You think you can steal from Roman Torchwick?!" He asked, his cane pointed towards her. She whimpered, shaking on the ground as she held the lien out towards him shaking her head. He looked down at her and actually saw her for the first time in that moment. "You're just a scared kid, aren't you?" She nodded. He snatched away the lien and she scrambled away. "Neo was it?" She froze at the sound of her own name and looked back at him as he tossed her the lien. "You can keep the money, or you can come with me." Her eyes lit up at the idea, she had lived on her own in the streets for years, no one had ever truly noticed her. "You wouldn't have to be alone anymore."

Neo stood over Yang, holding her hand out towards her, Yang still panicking on the ground. She looked up at Neo who gave her a concerned look, still holding her hand out and reaching closer.

"Why are you doing this?" Yang asked as she took Neo's hand. "What good am I? I'm just a one armed huntress who's afraid of her own shadow." Neo threw her arms around Yang and embraced her for a long moment before Yang shoved her away. "It'd be better if you go Neo. Please. I'm no good to anyone." Yang sulked back to the house where her dad stood in front of her bedroom door. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"Yang, you just don't see it do you?" He asked her.

"See what dad?" Yang asked.

"Blake needs you. Your sister needs you. Remnant needs you. And that girl out there, she needs you too. You can't act like you wouldn't be of use to anyone, I know how you felt about Blake and she's no better than you for running like she did. You have to put all of that behind you. You've got the same fighting spirit that your mother has," he told her. The comparison aggravated her and she shoved him.

"Stop comparing me to mom!" He sighed.

"Yang, do you know what I did the day after Summer died?" He asked her. "I went out, the same as I did everyday, and I protected you and your sister from the cruelties of this world. I didn't let the fact that there was someone much stronger that anyone we'd ever seen deter me from protecting what was important to me. I decided that life could only be worth living if I gave everything I had to keep both of you safe, even if it meant that I might die." Yang held back all of the tears that flooded her with the realization that her refusing to go out and live was selfish towards everyone she held dear. She collapsed into him.

"I'm still scared!" She gasped. He held her tight once again and kissed the top of her head.

"Sometimes you'll be scared Yang, and that's okay. You just can't let it control you," he explained to her. "I see the same scared look in the girl out there. You take her with you, I think it'll do both of you a lot of good. It won't be easy, but unlike your mother, you'll prove that you're a better person and you'll get the closure you need, one way or another." Yang sniffed nodding and pushed past him into her room, throwing clothes into a sack. "That quick huh?"

Yang laughed lightly to herself.

"I guess it's just another way I'm like mom." She looked up at her dad. "I'm going to find Blake and tell her know that I need her." Tai smiled slightly and nodded as Yang continued packing. "Would you tell Neo to come here?"

"I'm proud of you Yang," he told her as he retrieved Neo. She came into the room, setting the file down on Yang's dresser and lightly rocking on her feet.

"I don't completely trust you yet Neo. I'll be keeping an eye on you the whole time and if you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you." Neo's eyes grew wide in surprise as she nodded hopefully. Did this mean…? "This won't be easy. We might die. I can't promise you'll live." Neo nodded again, a smile slowly spreading across her lips as her excitement and joy filled her eyes in the form of tears.. "But I can promise one thing." Neo tilted her head.

 _I can promise you that you won't be alone._

* * *

There's our glimpse into why Neo was so attached to Yang, and why it hit her just as hard as Blake when she went missing. Next week Nightshade takes a risk to break Adam out of prison, in hopes to learn more about Jade in Chapter 22 - Uncaging the Bull!

Again, special thanks to alywint23 for writing the majority of this chapter, and a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	26. Chapter 22 - Uncaging The Bull

"Neo," came Blake's voice from behind her. Neo jumped and set it down, blushing in embarrassment and preparing to be scolded. "I miss her too. It's in a different way, but it probably hurts just as much for you." Neo nodded slowly and Blake wrapped her arm around the girl. "We can make it through this."

"Blake! Let's get going!" Coco shouted from the hallway.

"Just a moment!" Blake called back to Coco. She looked at Neo as they exited the room. "So, we don't normally do this, but Coco let Ruby pick her team for the mission tonight. It's gonna be Ruby, Reese, You, and Sun." Neo perked up immediately and her eyes twinkled. "Yep, get on out there." Neo nodded and saluted as she disappeared. Blake chuckled thoughtfully as she moved to the next room over and sat down next to Coco as she usually did. Coco handed her a few files detailing specs and other information about the Vale Prison as she put her earpiece in and handed one to Blake.

"Who's on errand duty tonight?" Blake asked.

"Scarlet," Coco replied taking a large sip of her coffee. She stood up and looked at the others in the room, the event had drawn a small crowd that was curious about how Ruby would do. Coco stood and addressed the crowd. "Okay people! The plan is to get in and out as quickly and discreetly as possible. Zero casualties is our goal, but things don't always go entirely as planned. If all of you are planning on staying, you're gonna help if needed, and you're all gonna stay quiet. Everyone clear on those rules?!" There was a collective murmur and nodding at Coco. She sat back down and checked the time on her scroll. "Damn celebrity huntress…" Blake laughed and Coco smirked as she turned away.

"Ruby, you there?" Coco asked.

"Team SRRN is here and ready!" Sun replied. Coco shook her head.

"Sun, Ruby is leading this mission. Also, what the hell would SRRN be?"

"Team Sun," he replied.

"How?" Blake asked.

"The 'R's are silent," he told them. Someone laughed in the back of the room and Coco glared at them as Blake snickered.

"Sage, don't encourage this." Coco turned back to her laptop and turned it on as she sighed. "Ruby, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she answered. "Neo's piloting the airship off the ground as we speak." Ruby turned to Sun and put her hand on his shoulder. "How about Team RSNR? The 'R's can still be silent!" Coco shook her head back at the base.

"Alright Neo. Entry point is going to be the roof of Vale's Maximum Security Prison. I'm guessing that we will have seconds between landing and being greeted by the guards. As soon as you land, program the roof's coordinates into the computer and tell the ship to auto pilot back here just in case," Coco explained.

"Nervous?" Ruby asked Reese as she sat beside the girl. Reese held her board, tucked under her arm, and looked up at Ruby shrugging.

"Not as much as I thought I'd be, but maybe it's because you're here," Reese offered. Ruby blushed slightly and waved her off.

"So, do we know where they're keeping Adam?" Sun asked.

"In the basement," Coco told them. Sun sighed.

"Of course," he replied.

"Oh, and Ruby," Blake said. Ruby perked up.

"Yes?" Ruby answered.

"Unless you absolutely need to, can we try to avoid using your eyes?" Ruby understood why. It wasn't an exact science yet and they were probably afraid she'd over do it and end up passing out again.

"Got it." She replied. The ship began shaking as bullets riddled the side of the ship and Neo came running from the cockpit. "What's going on!?" Neo grabbed Sun and teleported.

"I was hoping we could get the jump on them by doing this during the day because they'd have less security on the roof, but apparently they don't appreciate us flying so close," Coco replied. Neo appeared again grabbing Reese without any warning and Ruby ran to the door, leaping out and falling towards the roof. She noted that the men were knights and formed Crescent Rose into a spear, slamming into one the them that was firing up at her. She pulled it out and in one swift motion it became a scythe, slicing through another knight near her. Neo appeared behind Ruby as the ship flew away from the prison and into the distance. Sun back flipped over to them as Reese arrived on her board.

"Everyone okay?" Ruby asked. They all nodded at her. Ruby turned back towards the door several feet behind her to find two guards standing there that were shaking slightly.

"Hey! Rose Petals personnel only!" One of them shouted. Neo appeared between the two of them, holding her parasol out horizontally. She jerked it up and it slammed into both of their jaws, throwing them onto their backs. She waved for them to follow and proceeded inside. Ruby looked back at the other two, Sun shrugging as he stepped past and into the building. Ruby followed Reese into the building and the two soldiers stood up, staring at her in disbelief. "Isn't that…"

"It is! We gotta call Joseph, Weiss will want to know!"

Ruby stood at the front of the group at the end of a small hallway that would lead to a large multi-leveled, square room with several floors accessible by catwalks and stairs. She peeked around the corner and noted two guards that were turned away from her and having a conversation that she couldn't quite hear.

"What's our best approach as far as stealth is concerned?" asked Sun.

"Stealth's not a great option at this point," Ruby told him. "The guards on the roof that we took down are going to radio down here at any moment and with the way the jail cells are set up, someone somewhere in the room is going to spot us relatively quickly. Our best option is a defensive stance while we push our way down to the basement," Ruby told him. He smirked, spinning his staff above his head.

"Or a diversion? How many of me do you think you could make if we used your eyes?" Sun asked. Their comms came to life.

"Sun! Weren't you listening earlier?" Coco asked with bite.

"I was, but I was also kind of distracted," he replied.

"This isn't the place to be testing Ruby's power!" Coco sounded angry and Sun looked dejected.

"Fine. I'll try it with three then." Sun unleashed his clones and they ran out, leaping over the banister.

"Hey! There are people here! Sound the alarm!" Yelled one of the men. Bullets rang out as they opened fire and the clones led them on a chase. Ruby ran out into the room followed by the rest of her team and used her speed to quickly move to the two guards on the same level as them, knocking them out with a sweep of her scythe, using the staff to bat them in the head.

"Help! Please! Let us out!" Came a yell. Ruby looked towards the person calling. They all looked underfed and worn.

"I can help! Please!"

"I need to see my daughter, Bái!"

"My family needs me!"

"Over here!" Their pleas for help were overwhelming. Ruby was in no position to help these people and if she tried to save them all now, Rose Petals would have an army there within minutes to mow them down. She fell to her knees as their cries drowned her in uncertainty and a slight despair. Her teammates fought around her as the sound faded away and her ears were filled with a ringing silence.

 _You have this undeniable ability of giving others hope. If nothing else, you have the ability to keep us going Ruby and sometimes that's what we need more than a silver eyed fighter that could conquer all._ Jaune had told her that. As long as the remained hopeful and others could see it, they wouldn't give up. Ruby looked up to see Weiss standing on the other end of the catwalk, motionless. She stared at Ruby, still unmoving. Ruby slowly found her feet, teeth gritted. _That's what you want. Whoever you are. You want me to see Weiss as the villain. You want me to lose hope._ Ruby turned Crescent Rose into its gun form and placed it on her back, running through the chaos towards Weiss and stopping just short. _But I know better._ A large shadowy figure loomed in front of Weiss and slowly took the form of Salem.

"You and your friends will bring about the destruction of Remnant." Ruby's eyes began to glow. "You can't escape your destiny Ruby. None of you can."

"Ruby!" Someone called out snapping Ruby out of it. She was still on her knees on the catwalk, scythe still in hand. She looked up, but Weiss and Salem were no longer there. "Ruby!" Ruby leapt to her feet and scanned the room, spotting someone waving from a cell on the next level down. Ruby swung over the side of the railing using her blade to ease over and ran around the outside of the room on the platform, arriving at the cell.

"Fox?!" She exclaimed. Coco spewed coffee all over her papers and lost her glasses. They slid across her desk and Coco leapt to her feet.

"Ruby, did you say that Fox is there!?" Coco asked in disbelief. Coco grabbed Blake's shoulder and shook it. "Fox is there!"

"I heard," Blake replied pulling away to grab Coco's glasses and return them to her.

"I thought I heard your voice coming from above earlier. I thought that you died at the wedding," he told her. She let out a short chuckle.

"Everyone did, but it's a long story and we don't have much time at the moment for details." Ruby moved back a few feet. "You may want to stand back." Fox shuffled back in his cell and Ruby swung through the bars twice. They clattered to the ground and Fox stepped out, smiling and nodding his head slightly.

"Any chance I can help?" he asked. Reese hit the wall next to Ruby and Ruby glanced up at the knight covered in purple armor.

"Uh, guys!? What is this thing I'm looking at?" Ruby asked. Coco managed to get her glasses readjusted and flipped through the prison's feeds.

"Dust Knights," Coco told Blake.

"Great," she replied. "Proceed with caution. It's a knight that has been programmed to use dust."

"Got it!" Ruby answered. Fox nudged past Ruby, putting himself in between her and the knight. "Fox! You don't have your gauntlets! Plus this guy's pretty dangerous!" He gave half a smirk.

"That so?" Fox ran to the knight in three long strides and caught the robot's fist. A shockwave rolled back towards the knight, first blasting the Dust armor off of its body and then shattering the rest of the machine. Ruby moved to help Reese up, her jaw slacked.

"That was crazy!" She exclaimed. Fox moved back to Ruby, picking up one of the iron bars from off of the floor and twisting it in his hand.

"This will do for now," He told her.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked Reese. She nodded and stood on her own again, looking around her for her board. "How did you do that?"

"I can redirect kinetic energy back into my opponent," he explained.

"How did you know where he was?" She asked. He chuckled.

"That's a longer story," he replied sheepishly.

"Yeah! That's my Fox!" Coco cheered on the other end. "Someone give him a smack on the ass for me!" Ruby and Reese exchanged glances.

"We'll leave that to you when we get back," Reese replied. Sun landed next to them.

"I'll do it." Sun answered. Both of the girls looked Sun up and down. "What?"

"Nothing." Ruby told him. Neo strolled past Fox casually, complying with Coco's request and came to a stop beside Ruby. The three of them looked at her and she smiled back at them.

"Who was that?" Fox asked.

"That was Neo. She's with us." Ruby said. Neo curtsied and he held out his hand. She took it and gave it a firm shake.

"Nice to meet you Neo," Fox greeted her. She nodded at him vigorously, still smiling. He waited for a reply.

"Fox, she's mute," Sun said breaking the silence. Fox blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I guess that's why she didn't answer me. Makes a little more sense now," he chuckled. Neo tilted her head and looked back up at Ruby. Ruby sighed.

"He's blind." Neo's eyes grew wide and she threw double takes between Fox and Ruby.

"This is great and all, but can we get back to work," Blake asked over the comms. Ruby motioned towards the next level down.

"Two more levels to go before we reach the main floor," Ruby instructed them. Sun gave a tsk and leapt onto the railing.

"All in favor of getting this party started, follow me!" Sun exclaimed leaping down. Reese shrugged at Ruby and rode her board off the ledge, leaping over the railing and landing on the board again as she descended. Neo grabbed Fox, winking at Ruby and teleporting to the bottom. Ruby ran back from the ledge and then vaulted over with a running start, her body dissolving into rose petals. They drifted to the bottom and she reformed as all of them stood back to back in a large circle. "Knights! And lots of them!"

"Keep attacking until they're all gone!" Ruby shouted out. Reese, Ruby, and Sun fired away as Neo and Fox focused on anyone who got too close.

"We got this!" Sun yelled. "Piece of cake!" At that moment, a large double door swung open and the group was faced with Yatsuhashi, Mercury, and Octavia. Ruby froze as her eyes caught Octavia's, her veins a sickly glowing green color and her eyes matched.

"So this is an angel," Ruby said to herself. A tear slipped from her eye as she continued slicing through the robots. They were right, these people didn't seem human, they almost moved as if they were zombies.

"Are you alright Ruby," Blake asked her. Yatsu slammed his swords against the floor, destroying the ground and sending robots and Nightshade members soaring through the air. Ruby found her feet first and looked at Octavia again before looking over at her teammates.

"Sun. Reese. Go on ahead and get Adam. Bring him to the roof and if we aren't there waiting for you, leave," Ruby instructed them.

"But-" Reese protested.

"Just do it!" Ruby demanded. Reese shook slightly, looking at the angels and then back at Ruby.

"Coco, I-"

"I put her in charge because she's the best. We need Adam if we're gonna learn anything more about this Jade character," Coco told Reese. Reese looked at Sun who nodded slightly and they took off down a corridor, Reese looking back at Ruby the entire time.

"What are we dealing with here?" asked Fox. Ruby readied herself, gripping her weapon tight.

"I'll take Octavia. Neo can take Mercury and we'll leave you Yatsu," Ruby explained. Fox nodded in agreement and Neo opened her parasol, spinning it behind her. "Blake, if I use my silver eyes here by mistake, Neo can teleport me out if things get really bad." Blake sighed and stood up, taking out her comms unit and setting it on the desk. She nodded her head at Coco and bit her lip.

"Ok Ruby. Just be careful. From what we know, these things seem to be able to fight way longer than they would normally. We're not sure about turning them back, so hit them hard, but don't kill them," Coco filled her in. Ruby's eyes glowed softly and she readied her weapon.

"Octavia, I don't want to hurt you," Ruby tried reasoning with her. She scoffed and crouched, placing sword directly above her head.

"If you're not with Weiss, then you're against us," She replied. Mercury leapt over Octavia and into the air. She used her fire Dust and swung up at him,causing an explosion and throwing him further into the air, allowing him greater velocity as he came down. His feet were coming directly for Ruby's scythe staff when Neo slid into the way, catching both of Merc's feet with her parasol. Merc launched off, sending Neo stumbling back as Octavia charged in. Ruby and Octavia exchanged glancing swings, as Fox caught Yatsu's blows with the pipe.

"What's wrong with them?!" Fox asked. The last blow sliced through the pipe. Fox looked at the two halves and shrugged, rolling under the next swing and leaping to his feet, striking Yatsuhashi in the shoulder several times.

"It's a long story!" Ruby called back. She knocked Octavia's sword away and turned away, placing the butt of the staff against her chest and firing, the recoil throwing Octavia backwards. "Snap out of it Octavia! I don't want to hurt you!" She grinned unnervingly, diving for her sword and rolling to her feet with it.

"You're gonna have to Ruby! I'm not gonna give you a choice!" Merc leapt up and kicked at Neo, she blocked it with her parasol closed but the force caused her to slide backwards. Octavia ran right for her and swung down, her sword crashing through the clone.

"It'll take more than that to force my hand!" She replied to Octavia. She sped towards Octavia, the light seeping slowly from her eyes as though trying to break free. She stopped short and transformed her weapon into its gun form, placing the barrel in her chest. "What about your teammates? If you're still in there, I know you care about the others still." Merc landed a boot on Ruby's jaw from her left and sent her flying across the room.

"Don't listen to her Octavia, Weiss is all that matters to us!" Merc reassured her. Yatsu swung down on Fox again who carefully and quickly caught the sword, the energy surged back up through it, and threw Yatsu back through the wall. Ruby stood slowly, beams of light shooting from both eyes. She could end this now. Neo touched Ruby's shoulder to check on her and the light slammed through Neo's chest, knocking her off of her feet. Fox ran to them as Ruby turned to Neo, her eyes dying down, but not completely.

"Are you okay Neo?" Ruby asked. Neo looked her hands over and nodded as she stood. Her eyes changed colors, both green and she sprinted for Octavia and Merc. Merc kicked her as she reached them and the clone shattered. Suddenly, both Octavia and Merc were hooked from behind and spun around, taking blows to the face.

"There's two of her," Mercury said in disbelief. Octavia swung through one and it teleported. It reappeared behind Mercury and as he moved to attack the Neo in front of him, the second batted him in the head, knocking him out. The Neo beside Octavia shattered leaving one that joined Ruby and Fox as Sun and Reese rejoined the group with Adam who looked like he had been knocked out.

"Time to get out of here!" Sun yelled at them as though something was following them from the hallway.

"What is it?" asked Ruby. Neo grabbed Adam and teleported quickly to the roof as the room filled with Grimm. "What did you do Sun?!"

"Why does everyone blame me right away?" He asked as they fought the beasts pouring in.

"It's usually your fault!" Reese replied. A Beowolf swatted Reese and Ruby caught her, setting her back on her feet and slicing through the carnage. Ruby's eyes lit up again and she made quick, calculated bursts through the mass, cutting them down quickly.

"We gotta go! Adam was our target and there are even more Grimm heading this way!" Sun explained. Ruby turned back towards Octavia who helped Mercury up as the team ran for the stairs.

"What about the others?" Ruby asked.

"I'm sorry Ruby," Coco's voice came over the comms full and anger and hurt. "We have to leave them behind. We just can't compete with the angels, especially if we don't intend to kill them." Ruby watched as Octavia and Mercury returned to Yatsu, disappearing out of sight, and she headed up the steps after her team.

* * *

Well, the team was successful in freeing Adam, but is it for the best? Their risky move may have gained them intel but at the cost of additional trauma to Ruby. Next week we'll see if Jade can succeed in breaking her next angel in Chapter 23 - Caged Qrow!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	27. Chapter 23 - Caged Qrow

"Weiss, this is the new hire who was recruited earlier today. Her name is Ashley Rainier and I think that she will be a fine addition to the team if I do say so myself," Jade told her as she left the girl in Weiss's office and left. Ash covered her mouth with her hands and tried to keep herself from gasping.

"Okay Ash, we're back from helping the team get Adam," Coco said to her over the earpiece. "Anything that we might have missed or anything that you would want to fill us in on?" Weiss watched as Ash shook her head slowly and held back her tears.

"I can't believe it!" Ash exclaimed. "I can't believe it! You're _the_ Weiss Schnee! Heiress and now Queen of the Schnee Dust Company! I don't think I'll ever be more excited in my entire lifetime than I am right now!" Her celebrating turned to squealing and Dorian glanced over at Weiss who seemed a bit overwhelmed at the situation. "It's an honor Ms. Schnee! You can't know how honored I am that you've decided to hire me on. I may not look it, but I'm one of the stealthiest individuals you'll ever meet."

"Calm down," Coco instructed her.

"Well I should hope so," Weiss replied. Ashley held Myrtenaster in her hands and looked it over slowly. Weiss reached down at her side. "Hey!"

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see it up close! Amazing!" She handed it back to Weiss who looked up at Dorian. He smiled softly at her and shrugged.

"I have a few questions that I want to ask you myself," Weiss told her. Ashley nodded and sat down in the chair across from her on the other side of the desk. "They say that Qrow trained you." Ashley nodded again.

"Mmhmm."

"He never mentioned Team RWBY once?" Weiss's eyes were full of a slight wondering, and Ash grinned slightly and softly.

"Oh no, he mentioned the four of you quite often. Said that you and Ruby would have been very happy together. That's where I learned to appreciate the four of you and admire all of you. Not to mention, the four of you _are_ the heroes of Remnant. However, he never told me that any of this is going on." Weiss seemed puzzled and frustrated that she wouldn't be able to learn something about Nightshade, but she dismissed it. There's was nothing that she could do about it. "Do you really think that this is what Ruby would want?" Weiss glared daggers at her and Dorian looked down at her, shocked.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"White Rabbits. Fallen Angels. Do you think that Ruby would have been okay with all of that?" Ashley asked. Weiss balled her fists and they trembled.

"What are you doing!?" Coco asked in disbelief. "Tone it back a bit!" Weiss stood slowly and Dorian took a step back as Weiss came around the desk, pulling Ashley to her feet.

"It would be in your best interest if you bit your tongue. What I find acceptable in order to maintain peace and order in Remnant is neither here nor there. What matters is that I do everything in my power to make sure I continue Ruby's legacy of protecting the innocent."

"Even if it means hurting your friends?" Ashley asked. Weiss's eyes grew wide, but also filled with rage as she threw the girl at Dorian, who caught her.

"If she acts like this again, I want you to see to it she never returns!" Weiss demanded as she left the room in a rush. Dorian looked at Ashley who brushed herself off and took a step away from him.

"I'm sorry," Ashley told him. "I just… After everything I've heard about Team RWBY, I don't understand how she can be so blind."

"Blind to what?" Dorian asked.

"Her own actions."

* * *

Weiss's eyes filled with tears as she ran down the hall towards one of the side exits and she threw open the door, stepping out and throwing her body against the wall, propped up by her shoulder. _Even if it means hurting your friends?_ They wanted to stop her. They wanted her to give up on Ruby's dream. How had she gotten to this point? Her wits returned however, and she stood up, sniffing hard as she wiped her eyes. She was a Schnee, she needed to be strong. She was helping. She had wiped out Raven's Claw, and brought down Nightshade. Remnant was better off now, wasn't it? She walked with purpose towards the edge of the mountain and formed a path of glyphs down, running across them and arriving at the bottom, several feet from her destination. She brushed herself off again and stepped to the door of the small building, throwing it open. Light poured in, and reflected back off of Jade's eyes, like a deer in the headlights.

"Ms. Schnee! I… What are you doing here!?" Jade asked as she dropped her daggers and walked over to Weiss.

"It would seem you forgot to send an email to me this morning regarding this angel, but I was informed by someone that you would be breaking a new one in tonight. I thought that I'd sit in on a session for once, just to see how the process works," She told Jade. The color left Jade's face for a moment and she knew that Weiss was unable to make Qrow out in the dim room with the bright sun shining in behind her.

"Of course. Not a problem Ms. Schnee. Isn't Dorian with you? Or Ashley?" Jade asked trying to peer past her. Weiss blocked her view, arms folded across her chest.

"I'm afraid not. They won't be joining us tonight. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself Ms. Datura," Weiss reminded her. Jade looked back into the room and motioned for one of the twins to follow her.

"Rowan, come with us. I have to take a short break, you and Weiss can accompany me back to the compound for some water." She turned back to Weiss, a grin tugging on her lips. "Is that alright with you Ms. Schnee?" Weiss offered a slight smile in return.

"Of course," Weiss replied. She left with Rowan and Jade, leaving Ivory alone in the room with Qrow, who was chained to the wall. The door shut, leaving the two of them in silence. Ivory glanced up at him, her eyes fixated on the floor, trying to avoid eye contact for some reason unknown to Qrow. He chuckled softly and coughed.

"You and your brother were really impressive out there," he told her. She exchanged a quick glance, returning her gaze to the floor. "I don't think I've ever had that much of a struggle with only two huntsmen."

"We learned from the best. Jade has raised the two of us since we were in our early teens. She taught us everything that we know." She looked at him. "I guess you know our plan then."

"I know enough of it to know that it's a bad idea."

"That's not true. Salem will protect all of us and give us power like she did with Cinder and Jade." He scoffed. "She will!"

"She's just using all of you." He looked at her weakly. "Tell me, what is your objective here?" Ivory thought it over for a moment.

"Protecting Weiss."

"Hmm…" After a long silence the door was thrown back open and Jade grabbed her daggers back up, plunging one deep in Qrow's chest.

"I've been looking forward to this," she told him chuckling. "It's all I've thought about all morning." Qrow rolled his head.

"Please sweetheart, save the seductive act for someone else. It ain't gonna work on me," he stated. She laughed.

"Perhaps not. Oh, and Weiss is here. She wanted to be here in person when we broke you." Jade said. Qrow glanced over, Weiss walked into the room closing the door behind her, her heels clicking on the concrete floor. She stopped in front of him, hand over her mouth.

"Weiss." Qrow said. A silence filled the room and Jade glanced back and forth between their two faces. Weiss trembled and Jade moved close, standing beside Weiss, whispering in her ear like a snake.

"Jade. You didn't tell me…"

"I knew you wouldn't agree Ms. Schnee. I couldn't tell you, but we need to do this. I need to make him an angel, especially him! I've seen how powerful he is, and my serum will make him even more powerful." Jade turned Weiss's face toward her own. "He'll be the last angel we need. He could destroy their operation in a matter of minutes and once I break him, he'll tell us exactly what we need to know." Weiss glanced over at Qrow. He looked bruised. Cuts covered his chest, and blood dripped from his jaw.

" _If_ you break him," Weiss stated. Jade gave her a frustrated look and scowled.

"You don't think that I can?" Jade asked in disbelief. Weiss leaned over, quietly speaking into Jade's ear.

"We both know that once he turns you can't access his memories. All you can do is tell him what we already know," Weiss reminded her. Jade moved away, disgusted with Weiss acting as if she didn't know how her own process worked.

"I'll get it out of him no matter what," Jade reassured Weiss.

"Don't kill him," Weiss said weak. Jade smiled.

"Of course not! We agreed that I be extra diligent not to kill anyone since the first incident," Jade reassured her. Qrow looked at them.

"Yang?" He asked. Weiss turned her head, looking him over before turning back to the door.

"I don't think I can stomach this any longer. Thank you for allowing me a moment here Jade, but I think I shall return to Dorian now," Weiss told her leaving.

"Weiss! Don't do this! Ruby wouldn't want this! Jade is-" Jade slammed her fist into his gut, shutting him up and causing him to spit up more blood. Weiss found tears in her eyes again and quickly left. Jade laughed as she moved back to Rowan who handed her a vial and needle.

"Oh Mr. Branwen. We have an extra strong dose today for you! We're going to get into that head of yours and we're going to learn everything." She walked to him, flicking the needle she had filled and she slammed it into his neck on one side, biting the other at the same time. "Once my venom mixes with my angel serum, it's only a matter of time before your body will give up." She gave a sigh as the poison kicked in and Qrow wretched, his body struggling violently against his restraints. "Shhhhh… Shhhhh… Just let it happen. Give in to your fear. It's what makes you weak." Her voice faded and Qrow was surrounded by darkness.

 _Where am I?_ Light slowly filled his mind again and he squinted as he slowly moved forward to the end of the tunnel, stepping out and finding himself at Ozpin's desk.

"Oz? Am I dead?" Qrow asked. His eyes adjusted and focused in the lighting. Oz wasn't there, but beyond the glass was Summer, getting onto an airship as it took off. _This can't be. Jade can't know about this, how could she?_ Qrow ran to the elevator and rode it down, making a mad sprint to the edge of the cliff and becoming a crow as he leapt off, flying after the ship as fast as he could. It touched down in the woods by the cliffside and took off as Qrow landed and transformed back. He ran for quite some time before finally catching up to Summer who was slowly making her way to the cliff. "Summer!" Summer stopped and looked back at him, her hood over her head. Qrow was hit with a wave of flashbacks from them being in class and training together, to training Ruby and guiding her to Salem.

 _Did you miss me Uncle Qrow?_

 _Nope._

Qrow quivered slightly as he fully realized what Jade wanted him to. His biggest fear now was losing Ruby, the only thing that he had left of Summer.

"Qrow," Summer finally spoke bringing him back to the moment. He could see that her eyes were wet and she turned slightly away. "Qrow, you shouldn't be here. Ozpin said that I had to do this alone, and that anyone else coming with might jeopardize the mission." Qrow took two quick steps to Summer and pulled her in, tilting her chin up to face him. "Qrow…"

"Screw Oz. He always thinks he knows what's best, but how many times have things gone the way he's planned? Summer, I have to tell you something before you face Salem." Her eyes pleaded but were distant at the same time.

"Qrow."

"Summer, I should have told you how I felt sooner. Before Taiyang could steal you away from me. Before Ruby. I always thought that by playing the role of the cool, mysterious type that I wouldn't have to confront these feelings. But with Ozpin sending you on this suicide mission, I had to tell you. I don't want to lose you again Summer. I love you." Her eyes shone in the moonlight as Qrow moved in and kissed her. It was empty however, she didn't resist, but she also didn't give in, leaving Qrow conflicted as to what her response would be.

"Qrow... Qrow I have to go." She told him. She pulled away slowly and he looked at her confused. "I have to do this. To protect Ruby and Yang." She scattered into rose petals and flew towards the cliffside.

"Summer! No!" Qrow yelled. He felt time rush past him as he struggled to reach the other end of the dense forest. He ran out of the woods to find Salem and Summer. Salem lay on the ground, bloodied and unable to move. Summer held her side as she slowly moved to Salem, holding her scythe high above her head. "Summer…" As she swung her weapon down, Salem dissipated into smoke and flew towards Summer, entering into her body through her mouth and nose. Summer's body jerked and she hit the ground. Qrow remained motionless.

"Why did you follow her?" Summer asked. Qrow knew that Salem had won in that moment. Tears began to stream down his face. "Her daughters were the only thing on her mind as we fought and you showed up to remind her of her loved ones just before we fought. She was so… distracted." She slowly stood, her body still looked like Summer's, but her skin was a pale white color. A portal opened beside Qrow and Raven stepped out. She unsheathed her sword and pointed it towards Salem. "It's about time you caught up."

"Raven?" Qrow asked in disbelief. "Where have you been!?" She glanced at him, keeping her eyes on Salem.

"Ozpin told me that I could never tell the three of you, but it seems that I failed. I've been chasing Salem for years across our dimension and hers." Salem chuckled and lifted Summer's scythe above her head. "We have to kill her Qrow."

"What!?" He asked. Raven took off in a flash before he could protest and cut Summer down, forcing Salem to leave the body. Raven opened a portal and blasted Salem in. Qrow ran to Summer. "Summer."

"Qrow. Take care of my daughters," Summer managed. Qrow let the tears fall freely as Raven crouched beside him and wrapped an arm around him. He shoved her away.

"First you leave without telling anyone where you're going, and now you've killed Summer! There had to be another way!" He stood and shoved her to the ground. "Why Raven?! Yang misses you! I miss you!" Raven turned away.

"My job's not done yet," she replied opening a portal.

"Raven, don't leave." She nodded to him.

"Like Summer was doing here on the cliff, I have to leave to keep you and Yang safe." With that she was gone, leaving Qrow alone on the cliff. He held Summer in his arms as he watched the moon for a few moments as Jade approached him.

"She was so innocent and pure," Qrow told Jade after she had been standing there with him for a moment. "Why are you doing this? What did Remnant do to you that you just refuse to forgive and harbor so much hatred for?" She smirked.

"They told me I was a monster. So I proved them right," she told him. "Once we bring Salem back from being sealed away, I will be the host body, and she'll be able to return and claim Remnant as her own. And if Ruby tries to stop us like Summer did, I think you know what the outcome will be."

"They won't go down without a fight. Remnant has never seen anything quite like Team RWBY before and they never will again." Jade chuckled.

"That's why you're gonna take care of them before they can interfere with my plans." The scene faded and Qrow was returned to the wall, hanging inches from Jade's face. "It's simple really. You're going to kill the one thing you're afraid of losing the most. The way I see it, it kills two birds with one stone. Or one bird and one rose anyways." Qrow grimaced.

"You might want to move fast then. I know that Ruby is getting impatient and she's gonna let Weiss know she's alive soon," Qrow told her. Jade walked away and sat on a wooden chair in the middle of the room.

"Oh, we're counting on it. We hope Ruby lets us know she's alive so that we can trace the signal back to where Nightshade is. We know she's smarter than trying to come to us. We'll be ready for her, and it'll all be over when that happens." Qrow chuckled which turned into a full blown bout of laughter. "What? What's so funny?"

"I think you underestimate Ruby too much. You know what she did to Cinder." There was a dark glint in his eyes and a twisted smile crept onto his face. "Just imagine what will be left of you when she's finished." Jade shook her head and stood, motioning for Ivory to follow her.

"Come on Ivory. We'll take a short break and Rowan can have a little fun with Qrow. Hopefully he's broken by the time we return." The women left the room and Rowan unhooked his chain, spinning the hook in front of him slowly, his face expressionless.

"What about you? What's your objective?" Qrow asked. Rowan still remained expressionless.

"Doing whatever Jade tells me to, and just now she told me to mess you up." He grinned wickedly as he moved closer to Qrow. "And that's what I'm going to do."

* * *

"Shhhhh…" Jade told Rowan as she placed her hand over his mouth, dragging him up to his feet and pulling him out of the hut. He stumbled out but managed to stay on his feet as she followed him, slowly closing the door behind her.

"What's going on Jade?" He asked. She smirked and took off into the woods.

"Why don't you follow me out here and find out?" She asked him. He began chasing her, she had a slight head start as she had caught him off guard.

"What about Ivory?" He called ahead to her. He began to flap his wings.

"I figured we could have a little one on one training! And no wings! Once you have natural speed, you'll be unstoppable, but until then, no wings!" She yelled back. He closed them and gave chase for a while until she stopped at a river that was gently flowing along. He stopped beside her and knelt down, cupping his hands and taking a sip of the water. He sat in the grass and watched her peer out into the woods for a few more minutes. "Rowan, do you find me attractive?" He looked at her puzzled. Where had that come from? He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a slight shrug.

"Yeah. Anyone would be crazy not to. But that's kind of your thing. You lure men in for the kill and then you seize the opportunity. Are you asking if I'm interested?" She chuckled.

"No, I just wondered. You always seem to be the least affected by my 'charms' and I wondered if there was any sort of reasoning for it." He stood up and smirked slightly before the smile disappeared.

"Nothing but pure will power. Are we gonna get back to training or is there a lesson of sorts hidden in all of this nonsense?" He asked her. She smiled devilishly and threw him into the river.

"Isn't there always?" She dove in after him and helped him to his feet. As he regained his bearings her fist met his jaw and he fell back into the water.

"Hey!" She waited for him for a moment.

"Your opponent isn't always going to play fair. They're gonna hit you while you're down and I want you to be ready for that. I threw you in the water to keep you from going into all out rage mode. We'll mess with that later on." He used his wings to throw himself to his feet and he unhooked his weapon, Jade catching it with her blade at the last moment before he made contact. "I said no wings."

"You said it yourself. Your opponent isn't always going to fight fair." She smirked. He was a better student than she ever could have hoped for, even if he was conniving. She batted the hook away, attempting to plant her dagger in his right shoulder. He caught her arm with his left hand in a tight grip and threw his hook past her, pulling the chain until it rested against her back.

"What keeps you here? You're more than capable of handling yourself and don't say it's your sister. I know she'd leave with you in a heartbeat. So why do you stay?" She asked. He released the hook and it dropped to the ground. He pulled it back to himself slowly and she stepped over it, her feet splashing lightly in the water.

"Jade, I'm not one to get emotional," he told her.

"So I've noticed." She agreed. He hooked his chain back together and climbed out of the river, helping her out. She wrung out her tank top and looked at him as he sat on the shore.

"I know you've felt my pain. I know that the moment they realized you had this amazing power that could change the world, they only saw the worst possible outcome. They ostracized us, they kept us separate from the rest, and they tried to slow us down. They said it was because they were concerned about us, that they cared about us. We saw through the façade though. The only thing that we saw when we looked back into their eyes was fear. Fear that we'd be more powerful than they were. Fear that we'd become monsters. Fear that we would wreak unimaginable havoc." He gave a thoughtful chuckle as she sat beside him.

"So we did just that, we proved them right and we made their fears a reality, because that fear gave us a feeling of power. And it felt more amazing than we could have imagined, because once you can make people fear, you can make them do anything." His words slowly sank in with Jade and she realized that neither of the twins were afraid of her. They _wanted_ to be there. "You're really the only family we've had Jade, and I can't take that away from Ivory. Not to mention, if this Salem is as powerful as you think she is, we'll have this world living in a constant state of fear." He stood slowly and pulled Jade to her feet. He grabbed her and stared into her eyes, holding her there for a moment. Anxiety swept over Jade, she had never felt this way before. He was so close to her, and it wasn't because she was seducing him. She was unsure what to do.

"Rowan…" His finger pulled slightly on her bottom lip and he smirked as he moved to her ear.

"Plus, this is kind of a student, teacher relationship. I don't know how appropriate it would be if we were involved with each other." A chill ran down her spine and she was paralyzed. Is this how it felt when she seduced her victims? He quickly moved to her lips and kissed her softly at first, before deepening. She felt herself give in, she had never felt such a rush fill her entire body. She finally broke free after a long moment, gasping for air as she rested her forehead against his.

"Rowan-"

"It's best we don't tell Ivory, hm?" He left her there, watching him as he returned to the tents. She wasn't sure how to proceed, but the warm feeling that she felt was pure ecstasy.

 _That would be most unwise, would it not?_ Salem. Jade recognized the voice immediately.

"I don't feel that way about him Salem. There's nothing to worry about." But she was lying. As stone cold as Jade was, she knew there was something there.

 _I want you to make it very clear, that you have no intention of becoming involved with him. Emotions like that will cloud your judgement, and I would hate to have to remove my glass dust from you. You're stronger than Cinder. Prove it._ Jade felt something break inside for the first time since Salem had revealed the truth to her, but this time it wasn't empowering. She had to choose between Rowan and Salem...

But Salem had to come first.

* * *

"That's it, isn't it," Qrow managed as he coughed up blood, spewing it all over Rowan who didn't seem to mind as he was already soaked. He was surprised that the man was still alive and had somehow maintained his aura to this point, they had been at it all night. Rowan stopped, he wiped the torn skin from his hook and set it down for a moment as he sat, running his hand through his hair. 'It's not because Jade's in charge. I know when someone's in love pal, almost better than others." Rowan scoffed, a smirk on his face.

"You're not completely wrong. Maybe at one point I did. Maybe I was just playing her the same way that she's played me and my sister all these years." Rowan removed his shirt, and walked over to Qrow, placing his wings against the wall, and enclosing both of them. "At this point, I just want what I have coming to me, and I'm not going to let anyone stand in my way. If that means killing Ms. Schnee, so be it." His semblance activated and filled the space around them. "Now I'm going heal you, just so we can do this over and over again until you break."

* * *

Rowan is conflicted, Weiss is beside herself, and Ashley's making progress. Could this be the turning point for Nightshade to gain the upper hand? Next week Blake tries her hand at getting information from Adam in Chapter 24 - Bull in a China Shop!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	28. Chapter 24- Bull in a China Shop

Blake took a deep breath as she finished pulling on her tank top and tugged at the bottom of it so it sat comfortably. She looked herself over in the mirror, doubt filling her mind. She had a sick feeling in her stomach when they dragged him in the night before, unconscious, and Neo teleported him to her panic room. The nausea remained as she watched him sleep for a while on the monitor and Coco had finally sent her to bed. She could feel her hands trembling, and she looked down at them before looking back up in the mirror, Adam standing behind her.

"Hello my love." She turned and swung with Gambol Shroud, but he wasn't there. Her chest heaved as the adrenaline crashed through her body, keeping it in overdrive. First he had crushed her emotionally, then he had taken Yang's arm, and then he had killed Ironwood. He seemed to have changed after they defeated him, but she still didn't trust him, and she still wanted him dead for everything that he had done. She put her blade back on the magnet on her back and stepped out into the hallway, shocked to find that no one was around. She moved to Coco's situation room and sat beside her. Coco handed her a mug of coffee and Blake nodded in thanks.

"Where is everyone?" Blake asked. Coco chuckled under her breath, her back turned to Blake as she stirred her coffee.

"I told them that yesterday's show was free, but that today, they needed to get some training in. I told them they could join us if they paid me, but none of them seemed that interested. Neo's the exception obviously because she's the liaison." Coco explained to her as Neo entered the room and sat beside Blake. "I also have a request of you." Blake tilted her head slightly, looking at Coco. "You're the one out of all of us who would best know how to get to him…" Blake pushed her chair back and stood, backing away and waving her arms in disagreement.

"No Coco, out of the question." Coco continued to stir her coffee, still not looking at Blake.

"We need to get information from him, and you're the one who has to do it. I know that you're in charge, and I know that I can't make you do anything, but no one else can interrogate him. You're the only one." Blake shook her head.

"Coco, I'll kill him." Coco shrugged slightly.

"You won't kill him, because you know it isn't what Yang would have wanted." Coco finally turned back to Blake and looked at her. "If there's anything that you and I have learned since Ruby has come back, it's that we need to trust each other more. We need to realize that Yang wasn't my fault and Velvet wasn't your fault. It was whoever the hell is pulling the strings over there's fault. That's who did this to us."

"It's not that simple Coco! This isn't a matter of us arguing over petty things like we normally do." Blake told her.

"What is it then? I know you're strong enough to resist killing him. I trust that." Yang's words before their fight with Adam flashed in her mind.

 _You're the most awesome person I know. You can do this!_ Yang's smile filled her thoughts and Blake felt her trembling relieved.

"You're right," Blake said in agreement though she was still hesitant. She swallowed hard and turned slightly to Neo. "Whenever you are ready, take me in." Neo leapt up and skipped over to Blake, grabbing her arm, and teleporting her into the room with Adam. Adam sat on the edge of the bed and looked up as he heard them enter. Neo left them. Shock covered Adam's face slightly and he looked away from her.

"Blake. Why have you freed me? Why would you let me out of that place my love? Have you finally brought yourself to forgive me?" He looked up at her, still wearing his mask as always. It made him seem less vulnerable as always and she sighed, sitting across the room on a short wooden stool, trying to steady her breathing.

"Adam, we have questions about someone who used to be in the White Fang," Blake told him. He sat up straight now and shook his head slowly.

"I try not to think about them anymore Blake. When I was leading the White Fang, I was no better than my father. He killed my mother and led the Fang down a path of destruction. All so that he could get ahead, and now that I look back, I did the same thing. I'm no better than he is. I'll try to help, but I can't make any promises." Blake was surprised by how open he was being and eased up slightly.

"What do you know about a woman by the name of Jade Datura?" She asked. "We need to know to stop Rose Petals. Plus I think that she may be the woman responsible for killing Yang-" A smirk slashed across his face, he couldn't hide it. He looked at her, his mouth curling at the corners, but only in her head.

"I'm sorry to hear that Blake, but I don't think that I know anyone by that name." Blake's breathing picked up again, her hands gripping tightly to her knee caps as she tried to calm herself, but she could see his smile over and over in her thoughts. He was satisfied and if he did know anything, he wouldn't tell her anything that would get her closed to the killer.

"I don't buy that," she told him in reply. He grumbled at her.

"You don't have to believe me darling, but it's the truth. You can take me back to the prison if you'd like, if that's the only thing you were going to ask." He instructed her. Blake seethed, hoping that she was concealing her anger well enough to not tip him off. She knew how he worked. He would mess with her head even more then, and she'd do something regrettable.

"Hold on a moment." Coco said in Blake's ear and Neo appeared between Blake and Adam with a file that she handed to Adam before teleporting back out. "Ask if he recognizes her at least?"

"This is the Jade you're looking for, huh?" He asked. Blake nodded as he looked back up from the paper. "I can say that I've seen her before." There was an audible shifting and clicking on a keyboard in Blake's ear.

"Where?" She asked him.

"She killed my father the night that the Atlesian army attacked the camp. I told her to help you escape and when I met back up with her, she seemed psychotic," he explained. Blake slowly stood, her face expressionless as she reached back for her sword and held it tight in her hand.

"You're lying." Blake called him out. "You told me that night that your father had been killed by the military. It's one of the reasons that I began hating the humans more. You're telling me that one of our own killed him?" He nodded. She moved quickly to him, her blade at his neck as she breathed heavily. "Were you lying then or are you lying now, because either way I still want to kill you! I saw that smile you couldn't hide when I said that Yang had died. Did that bring you joy?! Does the pain of others always bring you happiness? You sick sadistic freak!" He looked up at her unmoving, a smile twisting onto his face.

"Blake, stand down!" Coco demanded.

"If I'm being completely honest Blake, I'm very glad that Yang is dead. Maybe it'll get you to realize that you should have never left and we could have had everything. Instead of Weiss running the place, it could have been us." Blake smashed the blunt side of the blade against his face and moved behind him, placing the tip of her blade at the back of his neck.

"You haven't changed, have you?!" She yelled. "Tell us what you know?!"

"Blake! I'm warning you and asking you to stand down!" Coco shouted in her ear. Adam lowered his voice, being quiet so that it would be harder for Coco to make his voice out.

"I watched the transmission from my cell when they announced that Yang had been executed and I felt happier than I ever had before, knowing that the person that had stolen my happiness was dead. Let's face it darling, you'd be just as happy if I was dead, and that really makes us no different than one another. So do it. Do it Blake! Kill me!" Blake brought her blade back and swung, only to find it caught by the hook on Neo's parasol. Neo pulled back and Blake wrenched away, swinging for Neo who blocked Blake's blade with her open canopy and shoved her back.

"Blake stop! We need him alive!" Coco yelled at her.

"Coco, he's either telling the truth, or he's not going to tell us anything anyway! At this point he's of no use to us!" Blake shouted back. Adam crawled back on the bed quickly as Blake lunged to attack. Neo blocked the third swing and the two women struggled against each other, pushing steadily back on the others weapon, Blake was only using her sheath blade at this point. Adam leapt off of the bed, but he was weaponless, and for the moment, could only watch. The gunshot rang out without any warning, and Adam held his side, the blood seeping out slightly.

"I don't have any aura?" He asked in disbelief.

"You were too dangerous for us to allow you to keep it. It'll return soon enough, but not soon enough that I can't kill you first," Blake explained as her eyes became crazed.

"Neo!" Coco shouted. Neo grabbed Adam quickly and teleported him up into the hallway of the bunker. Neo and Adam stood there alone, out of breath for a moment.

"Coco, what are you doing?!" Neo could hear Blake yelling over her comms unit.

"You were going to kill him Blake, I couldn't let that happen, we need our lead to find out who killed Yang and took Velvet!" Coco replied.

"So you left me in here instead?!" Blake asked demanding an answer. Neo was distracted by the argument and didn't notice Adam swing from out of her peripheral, hitting her full on in the jaw and snatching her parasol away, detaching the blade. He swung at her and she ducked under it twice before back flipping away from his third attack, which was lower. Neo teleported away and the alarm blared inside of the base, dimming the regular lights and kicking on the dull back up red lights, to give the hallway a warm hue. Adam laughed out loud as Coco and Neo entered the hall from the situation room. He spotted them and took a defensive stance.

"Someone tell Blake that I'm glad my father killed my mother. She needed to die," he told them.

"You sick Bastard!" Coco shouted at him. "What kind of enjoyment do you get from hurting others, especially Blake?!" Blake took a momentary pause. Coco was defending her. For some reason, it stirred up emotions in Blake and she held back tears. After not getting along for so long, Coco was taking her side completely. With the exception of killing Adam… "Maybe you do deserve to die." He cracked a smile.

"Perhaps, but none of you will be killing me. I'm in charge here now." Coco's purse transformed into its gun form and she aimed it at him.

"You're in no position to talk," she told him. Slowly other people began pouring into the hallway. Adam seemed to enjoy the attention and he raised Neo's blade, quickly swiping at Coco. She leapt back, keeping her distance, white knuckling the gun. Adam shook his head and peered out at his audience, slowly turning to face them all.

"She's afraid of me, yet she doesn't want to kill me. These are your leaders?!" His shout thundered through the hall.

"Neo," Coco slipped under her breath. "Get Blake and wake up Ruby." Neo nodded and was gone. Adam's body glowed for a moment, his aura was replenished.

"Who wants to challenge me?" Adam threw his arms wide. "Pathetic. All of you are hardly worth my time." He spun quickly, blocking Gambol Shroud and knocking Blake back. He charged and lunged for her, which she easily blocked and knocked him away. She attacked relentlessly, but he blocked a parried every one of her strikes with a certain air of ignorance, making it look easy in the process, despite the flurry. "Blake, you know that this won't end well for you." He was interrupted as he was thrown into the crowd by Coco's crossfire. He tumbled into them and slid across the floor as he found his feet and managed to stay upright. Without warning the power went out.

"What the hell?!" Blake yelled. A murmur began in the crowd as they removed their scrolls so they could see. "All of you who aren't Faunus, get into the training room and lock yourselves in! The rest of us will take care of this!" They scattered, causing a general sense of chaos as Coco surveyed the group looking for him. "How did he do that?"

"I have my ways. The White Fang have been awaiting my freedom for quite some time now, and they're ready to follow a true leader once again. They have ears and eyes everywhere, and they most likely knew I had been brought here. Shall we dance my love?" He asked her.

"You see him?" She asked Coco. Coco nodded.

"My glasses remember?" Coco reminded her. "I got your back." There was a crash and an explosion at the top of the stairs and Faunus began pouring into the bunker. They gathered beside Adam and a blur flashed into the hall, tearing through them and slicing them in half. Her scythe met Adam's blade.

"Ruby Rose. What a pleasure to finally meet." He shoved her back and she slid away, before sprinting back at him again, exchanging blows.

"This is war guys! I know we normally try to avoid killing people, but they aren't going to be as nice!" Ruby yelled to her teammates. More of the White Fang poured in and Coco and Blake worked to dispatch them as Ruby fought against Adam in the middle of it. Sun and Neptune ran into the room from the living quarters and began attacking.

"Where have you two been?" Coco scolded them.

"Neptune got scared when the lights went out!" Sun declared batting away a group of Faunus.

"Says the monkey who screamed like a girl! I'm not a Faunus, I can't see in the dark like you!" Neptune explained. He fired into the crowd standing beside Coco, offering support.

"How can you see now?" Coco asked.

"I have goggles for everything. These are my night vision goggles." Neptune flashed her a smile as he continued to shoot. Ruby and Adam clashed and she knocked his blade away. Neo barely made out what was happening, but managed to retrieve her weapon. One of the White Fang tossed a new sword to Adam and he continued his attack.

"How can Ruby see in this darkness?" asked Sun.

"Silver Eyes," Coco and Blake replied in unison. Blake joined Ruby now and Adam managed to hold them both off. He was wielding a katana now, which he was much more proficient with.

"What can't these silver eyes do?!" Sun asked them, his voice incredulous.

"The author isn't sure! He's hoping they clear that up in volume 4!" Neptune shouted over the sound of Coco's gun.

"What did you say?!" Coco shouted back to him.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter," he replied slightly dejected.

"They're thinning out! We can overwhelm him," Ruby yelled out to them. Adam laughed.

"That's what you think, but I haven't played my ace yet. The White Fang are great at getting their hands on classified tech." A mechanical grinding filled the hall and their eyes found the stairs as their blades slid off of Adam's. The mech reached the bottom and tilted its head. Ruby's guard dropped as she was filled with disbelief and Adam batted her away.

"I'm combat ready Mr. Taurus!"

* * *

Dorian stepped out of his room and slowly closed the door behind him in order to avoid drawing any attention to himself by anyone in the building. He now had a difficult job of sneaking over to the main building and making it to the server room to find out just what reason Jade would need an artificial aura. Nothing added up about it, but once Jade showed interest in Ash after finding out her semblance, Dorian knew that Jade wasn't just heading to the archive room the day before just so she could destroy some old files. He had to know what she was planning on doing for the sake of curiosity, and to keep Weiss safe. He had never trusted Jade and despite the fact that she had many advantages over him, Dorian did have one thing in his favor. Time.

Dorian drove over to the building and greeted the woman at the front desk, proceeding down the hall and stopping at the server room. He rewound time so that he was never seen by the woman at the front desk and stood in the hallway, confused. There was usually a pair of guards that were posted just outside of the door and Dorian proceeded to enter, slowly navigating the large towers of supercomputers when he swiftly ducked back into the center aisle. Someone else was in there. He had only caught a glimpse of their backside, they were crouching to better examine something at the bottom. He wondered if he should wait a minute or two longer for the alarm to kick in, or if he should confront them now and decided that the latter was more reasonable, assuming it was Jade trying to disappear with more files. He quickly came up on the intruder and pulled them up by the shoulder.

She quickly spun around and batted him across the face with her tonfa before grabbing him and pulling him down to inspect his face.

"I am so sorry! Oh thank The Maidens it's you. If it was that snake woman, I'd probably be screwed," Ash told him. He rubbed his jaw. What was she doing in here? He knew she was right though, if it had been Jade, she'd be dead. She turned back to the tower and pulled out another drive, plugging her scroll into it. "If you're wondering where the guards are, I told them that Jade wanted them right away at her room. I told the redhead that spotted me the same thing."

"I… That's fine, but what I'm more concerned about is what you're doing here," he told her as he pulled her away to face him again. She looked him up and down.

"Can I trust you?"

Rowan had been told by that new, short girl that Jade wanted to see him. It wasn't completely uncommon for Jade to be up so early in the morning as she normally liked to start the day off before everyone else to make sure that everything was aligning perfectly. Not to mention he had been at it all night with that old man and nothing had come of it aside from Qrow telling him that he could make a different choice, and that he had all this potential to make a good decision and do what was right before it was too late. Rowan knew that it was nothing but nonsense and couldn't wait until the six of them would wipe out humanity and start over with Jade at the helm. She intended to out maneuver Salem, and her plan was air tight. He rounded the corner to find two guards walking just ahead of him.

"Hey!" He called out. "I recognize you two! What are you doing away from your post?" The guards stopped and turned around to greet him.

"Good morning sir!" The one on his left replied.

"Ms. Rainier sent us here saying that Jade wanted to see us." The other responded. Rowan looked back down the hallway from the direction he had come.

"You idiots! Get back there now! She's probably breached our servers already! Go!" He shouted at them. He burst into flames and the men cowered before they took back off past him, down the hall.

"Yes sir!" They replied in unison. Rowan marched towards Jade's room, almost in a run. He reached the end of the hall and threw the door open without a moment of hesitation. He saw movement in between the sheets and heard heavy breathing. Rowan quickly slammed the door shut, body frozen at the door for a moment before releasing the handle and briskly walking down the hall, slipping around the corner. He stopped and leaned against the wall, short of breath, his chest in pain. _I know when someone's in love pal._ Rowan tried to shake it off, but he knew he was lying to himself. Jade told him that Salem came first and that was final and he knew that she had been messing around with Joseph for some time now to keep him around, but the idea that he had just walked in on them… Nausea rose up in his stomach but he pushed it down, his fists clinched. It didn't matter. It couldn't. He headed back towards the server room, crushed, with a new sense of vengeance.

It was an interesting question. Could she trust him? At this point he was almost completely convinced that she was with Nightshade but now he had a different question. Was Nightshade fighting Weiss, or Jade? How much did they know? Did they know more than Weiss? Dorian continued searching Ash's eyes.

"Do you care about Weiss?" He looked at her shocked. Did she know? Was she guessing? Did it matter, the question was simple and all he had to do was answer.

"Yes." He let go of her arm. "Yes to both." She nodded and handed him the scroll as the alarm began to sound.

"Damn." She left it with him and headed quickly to the door. "Look at the scroll. When you're ready, come and find us." She took off running out the door and he looked back down at the scroll in his hand. A video feed played that had been taken only a few days ago. It depicted the rabbit girl that they had abducted some time ago, screaming out in pain and calling for Coco. His heart crashed against his chest and a horror filled his bones. The shrieks were beyond that of normal pain, she sounded like a dying animal. He quickly pounded on the screen, tracing back through the log and finding out where the video had been taken. He quickly jotted the info down mentally and exited back to the main screen. A read me file was placed in the top right corner. Somehow, she had known that he would find her first, and that she was going to give him this information. The number to call another scroll, a member of Nightshade no doubt.

Dorian quickly pocketed the scroll and began to head out, only to be stopped by the two guards, with Rowan looming over them.

"What do you have there?" Rowan asked as he parted the two men and stepped up to Dorian, using his wings to appear larger and more terrifying. Dorian swallowed hard, he knew that no one in the cabinet cared for him, which put a constant target on his back for anything that looked remotely suspicious.

"Have where?" Dorian asked trying to play dumb. Rowan reached into his pocket and removed the scroll, looking it over.

"This belongs to that new girl, doesn't it?" Rowan asked. He smiled in a manner that disturbed Dorian, causing him to feel sick. "I think that we should hand this over to Jade and see what she can pull off of it. There's really no telling what kind of inside information that this device can give us." Rowan started to walk away and Dorian removed his watch, rewinding time until the men and Rowan had left the room once more. He removed one of his clock gear shuriken and carved the number and location onto the side of the hard drive and shoved it back into the computer, throwing the scroll on the ground and stomping on it. He mussed his hair up a bit and tore into his suit using his shuriken, before throwing himself to the ground.

"Is there anyone in here?" called one of the guards. Dorian moaned and attempted to roll over, holding his side. Rowan shoved past the men and picked Dorian up by the collar, slamming him against the computers.

"Dammit Dorian, where is she?" Rowan demanded.

"You saw what she did to Joseph. I tried to stop her, but I didn't stand a chance. She dropped her scroll and we struggled against each other for a moment before she attacked me in a flurry and ran. I'm guessing she went right out the front doors and rode off on her Ursa," Dorian explained. Rowan groaned and growled, throwing Dorian to the floor and marching out with the men. Dorian gave a sigh and slowly stood, wandering out towards the hallway and back towards the receptionist's desk. He would come back for the drive later. What he saw on that screen… Whatever they did to that girl was inhumane. Dorian knew that he and Weiss couldn't take the other five by themselves. He had to be careful, but he had to act soon.

* * *

"Penny?" Ruby stammered as she stood at the bottom of the steps. Penny tilted her head slightly, smiling and waving at them.

"Yes! I am Penny, property of the Atlas Army. Adam is my friend." Penny told them. Ruby stood after a moment as Sun dove between her and Adam with his staff, blocking several blows.

"Ruby! Snap out of it! That's a different Penny model than the one you knew before!" Blake shouted. Blake and Sun managed to shove Adam away from Ruby, but Penny turned her attention towards them.

"Are they trying to hurt you Mr. Taurus?" she inquired.

"Yes!" He managed between blows, knocking Blake back and sweeping Sun's feet out from under him. He moved to stab Sun, but he rolled out of the way at the last moment, feeling the blade slip past the back of his shirt.

"Don't worry Mr. Taurus. I can help." Her swords ejected from their compartment and loomed behind her.

"Watch out!" Coco shouted out to the group. There were only two White Fang left aside from Adam, and Penny's blade made quick work of them, accidentally cutting them down. Ruby, Coco, and Blake managed to block the attack while Sun and Neptune opted to roll out of the way. Ruby batted several away, charging Penny and slicing at her. Her strikes knocked Penny back, sending her sliding back to the bottom of the steps where she came to a stop. Neptune tackled Neo who couldn't see, keeping her from being hit by Penny's attack.

"Penny! I am your friend!" Ruby yelled. Penny gasped.

"Are you really my friend?" Ruby nodded her head, a few feet away from Penny as the fighting continued behind her.

"Yes!"

"Then why are you trying to hurt Adam? He is _also_ my friend." Penny shoved Ruby back. "Friends don't let their friends get hurt." Penny drew back all of her swords at once, forcing Ruby to activate her eyes and block the barrage of blades that twirled and swung past her. She met every one with her own blade and Penny tried again as Sun, Blake, and Coco tried to wear Adam down. Coco was having the best luck out of the three, as he had to make an active effort to block every bullet from her spray of gunfire. All of Penny's blades met Crescent Rose in a unified effort and slammed Ruby into the wall. She formed the swords before her in a tight circle, spinning them at high speed as a ball of energy grew in the middle.

"Penny, no!" Ruby yelled out as the energy cut through the hallway and slammed into Blake. The clone dissipated and the laser slammed into Adam who took the entire force of it. After the laser died and they could all see again after a long moment, smoke rolled off of Adam and his suit sizzled slightly. He held the sword tight in his hands and it had a familiar glow.

"Just because I don't have Wilt doesn't mean that I can't perform Moonslice!" He shouted. He spun quickly without warning and his blade slid through Sun's staff and torso like butter, slicing his body in half at a diagonal, from his waist up to the opposite shoulder. Terror filled Sun's eyes for a moment and as the light's finally flickered back to life, Sun's body hit the floor.

"Sun!" Neptune yelled as he ran to his friend. Adam raised his sword to strike down Neptune but found Blake's sword sliding through his chest from behind. There was an audible gasp from Ruby as Blake held him there. Adam grabbed her blade with his hands and tried to slide it back out, but she held it firm. Her body trembled as she seethed.

"My love…" He gasped. She shoved it in further, twisting slightly so that he would feel even more pain. She could hear the smirk on his face as he spoke. "I didn't think you had it in you… But this proves it. You're just as much of a monster as…" She swiftly pulled the blade back out and transformed it into its gun form as it exited. She opened fire, unloading an entire clip in his back as the others watched her in shock. She slammed the next one in and held her sheathe blade back towards Coco, stopping her from interfering as she continued to unload bullets into Adam.

"Blake-" Blake wasn't there though. Her mind drifted to all of the abuse he had put her through. All of the things that he had made her do that she had never wanted to do. All of the humans that they had killed. All of the lies he had told her. Yang's arm. Ironwood. All of it hit Blake at the same time and the one memory that rang out was Adam murdering an Atlas General, cutting his body into bits simply because he had looked at Adam the wrong way. She wanted to return the favor. "Blake."

"Ahhhhhhh!" She let out a blood curdling scream and transformed her weapon back into a sword, crossing the blades and decapitating him. All of their eyes were on Blake and for a long moment, no one moved. Adam's body turned to stone and crumbled, the debris scattering and drifting out the bunker through the explosion created hole at the top of the staircase. Penny looked at all of them, preparing to fire again. Ruby shot across the room in a blur, grabbing Neptune's trident, and overloading Penny's circuits, effectively deactivating her. Blake looked at her hands and her torso, covered in blood and she dropped Gambol Shroud, doubling over and throwing up on the floor. Coco moved to her and grabbed her hair out of the way, placing a hand on her back.

"Blake. Listen. You're okay and he can't hurt you ever again. Just breathe," Coco told her, trying to sound reassuring. She looked at the rest of them, their attention now on Sun again. His body slowly dissolved into light particles, drifting around each of them as if to say goodbye, before floating out of the bunker. They were left with silence, paired only with Blake's sobbing.

"He killed Sun! All because I went easy on him! I'm sorry!" Coco grabbed Blake by the hair and forced her to her feet. "Ahhh… Ahhh-"

"No! He killed Sun because he was a monster. He was a man hell bent on making everyone else miserable. If you had fought harder, he would have matched your strength. The only person in that room he wouldn't have killed was you Blake!" Coco told her. "Pull yourself together!"

"Pull myself- Do you hear yourself?" Coco was taken aback. "We are in the middle of a freaking war! Velvet is most likely dead! Yang is absolutely dead! Who do we have to blame but ourselves?!" Coco swung her purse at Blake but Blake caught it and threw it back.

"Who do we blame? Are you seriously asking that? Weiss! Jade! Blame whoever the hell you want to blame, but blaming yourself won't do anyone here any good, especially everyone who has followed you this far!"

"Maybe we should give up…" Blake suggested somberly. Coco cocked her hip as Neo slowly approached her and tugged on her sleeve, sadness filled her eyes.

"No, she doesn't mean that." Coco turned back to Blake. "Not a chance. All of us have lost someone to Rose Petals. Nobody here is just going to give up, and nobody here is going to let you just give up either." Coco looked at Ruby who looked at them with pain in her eyes. Coco sighed and turned back towards her room. "Someone clean up the bodies out here and someone tell everyone else that they can come out of the training room now."

"Coco…" Blake managed. Coco trembled as she turned back to face Blake, tears streaming down her face.

"Blake. I know that this has been difficult on you. But for the love of The Maidens!" She inhaled heavily, her breath quivering. "Stop acting like you're alone in this." Blake watched Coco as she pointed towards Blake's room. "Go get some rest. You want some closure right?"

"What do you plan on doing?" Blake asked.

"In a few days we're gonna get our answers." Coco left with a weak chuckle through gritted teeth and she headed into her room. Ruby moved to Neptune who was still on the floor, holding Sun's staff. She handed him his trident back and he nodded in thanks, but he was in no shape to reply as his eyes glossed over and he wretched, holding it all in.

"So this is what war looks like?" Neptune asked barely audible. He chuckled and stood up, holding Sun's staff above his head. "He had more points than I did. I guess he won." Ruby gently touched Neptune's shoulder.

"Will you be okay?" She asked him. He sniffed and nodded, a grin on his face.

"I always had this feeling he'd die first. And it would be epic and they'd consider him a hero," Neptune told her. He smiled, though his eyes were wet again. "That's just how it happened, isn't it?" Ruby nodded and gave an attempt at a smile, but it was no use. She had never felt this kind of hurt before, not since her mother had died. The last time someone had died in front of her she had gone into a coma. "Let's put this in Coco's memorial." Neptune took it to Coco's room, slowly opening the door to let himself in.

"Hey, why don't you try knocking?!" She scolded them. She looked up from her scroll to see Neptune and Ruby in her door, Neptune holding the staff. "You want to put it with the rest?" He nodded.

"If we could." Coco walked over and opened the glass box, Ruby spotted Neon's Nun-Chucks and Flynt's Trumpet. In the next case over was Fox's Weapon, which could be given back to him, Brawnz's claws and Yang's hip cape. In the case on the end were dual 12 round dust revolvers, but Ruby didn't know who those belonged to. They transformed the staff into the gun-chucks and placed them in the case.

"Now what?" Ruby asked. Coco sighed as Neptune left the room.

"I don't know if Blake will get on board with this idea completely, but I say that we give our heads a couple of days to clear and we go give them hell."

 **2 DAYS LATER**

"They don't know that I'm doing this. I'm hoping to surprise Blake before things get crazy tomorrow," Coco said to her computer monitor over her video conference call.

"How crazy?" asked Pyrrha who sat on the other end by herself. Nora and Ren were together (Yes Together Together) in a separate video in the same conference.

"We're going to battle against Rose Petals, and I'd love it if you could lend us some support," Coco explained.

"We'd love to!" Nora exclaimed.

"No, we wouldn't. Don't you remember what happened last time we helped?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're right! Terrible idea!" Nora replied.

"At this point, we feel it would be most wise if we just sat this one out," Ren told Coco.

"I'm not sure that we can do this without you though. With the size of Weiss's military force as large as it is, the only way that this whole thing will work out as well as we'd like, is if you would decide to help us," Coco said.

"Please!" Nora begged her other two teammates.

"No. Absolutely not," Pyrrha told Coco and Nora again.

"What can I say to you Pyrrha? What can I tell you that would make you want to come back?" Coco's door slowly opened and Ruby poked her head in.

"Why not tell her that I'm still alive?" Ruby asked. Coco stood up from her seat and walked to the door.

"Ruby! You weren't supposed to know about this either! I can handle this, just go keep Blake occupied-"

"Ruby?" Pyrrha asked. "Ruby Rose?" Ruby slowly slid past Coco and stood in front of the laptop, smiling and waving.

"Hi guys!" She replied.

"Coco, you never mentioned that Ruby was alive," Ren said.

"I didn't think to. She's almost been back with us for 2 whole weeks," Coco told them standing behind Ruby.

"How is it that you're still alive," Pyrrha asked.

"Someone at Rose Petals faked my death to make Weiss agree to everything that has happened so far," Ruby replied. There was a moment of awkward delayed silence as Pyrrha tried to find words.

"Coco?" Pyrrha asked. Coco threw her hands in the air.

"It's true. We don't think that Weiss is the one behind all of this." Coco offered. Ren shook his head and Nora mimicked him.

"Ruby, I don't know that any of us want to risk getting hurt again," Pyrrha explained. Ruby sat down and adjusted the seat so that she could look into the camera.

"I know that you guys have been hurt by Rose Petals also, but that's why you should join us. If we work together, we can end the pain for everyone, and trust me, it sounds like Rose Petals has caused everyone a fair share of pain. We…" Ruby hesitated and looked back at Coco who nodded softly in approval. "Adam killed Sun a few nights ago in a failed attempt to break him out of prison and question him about a certain Rose Petal member. We didn't know that someone on the inside had been waiting for us to have that idea for quite a while and so they had placed a tracer on him. What was left of the White Fang that didn't join Rose Petals stormed our bunker and tried killing us. We had stopped most of them, but Sun had his life taken by Adam with an attack that blindsided all of us."

"We're sorry to hear that," Ren replied.

"If you join us though, I think we can win this thing. The first time that you guys fought against them, Nightshade was far less prepared and ready than they are now. We've got a solid strategy that needs you guys to be successful! Just imagine ending the war once and for all and setting things back to the way that they used to be!" Ruby slowly stood and brushed herself off.

"Not entirely," Pyrrha told her looking away from her screen.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha began sobbing into her hands as she moved her camera so that it wasn't capturing her.

"Rose Petals killed Jaune," Ren explained. "That's why we never joined Nightshade." Ruby gasped and looked back up at Coco.

"Coco, you never told me…"

"I didn't think we'd have to so soon," Coco explained to Ruby. Ruby sat down for a moment again, her own eyes becoming wet as she remembered their time together on Team RNJR.

"Pyrrha, I know that it hurts, but you have to. Jaune never gave up after you died and we hunted down Salem. Don't give up on him," Ruby begged. "Please."

"Ruby, that's enough. They're free to whatever decision they choose. Blake and I don't want anyone else feeling obligated to help," Coco told her. Ruby stood up and slowly made her way for the door.

"We'll do it," Pyrrha replied weakly. Coco spit her coffee out nearly choking on it and watched as Ruby left the room as she was still gasping for air. "We can be there as early as tomorrow."

"What the hell?" Coco mouthed to herself.

"She's got a point. We've all shared the same hurt. Now we all need to come together and fix that hurt," Ren replied for Pyrrha. Pyrrha gave a slight nod. "We all came together for Pyrrha, avenging Jaune is the least we can do."

"Like I said, we can be there tomorrow at the earliest," Pyrrha reminded her.

"Great! Awesome! Fantastic!" Coco exclaimed. She followed Ruby out of the room and into the hall. "How did you do that?"

"I dunno." Coco face palmed and shook her head as Ruby walked away.

"Yeah, well I don't know either." Coco walked back to Blake's room and opened the door. "Blake, it's time we get this thing under way." Blake looked back at her up from her desk and moved her seat over as Coco shut the door behind her and walked across the room. She pulled up a chair and sat backwards on it, staring at the computer screen as Blake made the call to Weiss's scroll. The monitor came to life, and Weiss peered at them, squinting for a moment before she realized who it was.

"The two of you have finally come to your senses? I can't imagine why else you would be calling me, especially my personal number." Weiss told them, feigning an air of superiority. "I'm glad that both of you are finally ready to put all of that nonsense behind you and join me, as you should have in the beginning."

"That's not why we called," Coco told her. Weiss was taken aback. She scoffed and turned her nose up.

"Well I can tell you right now that I am in no mood for a social call!" Weiss said, an irritation in her voice. "Why did you call me then? Hm?"

"Are you familiar with the location of Grimm Valley?" Blake asked.

"It's just north of Mountain Glenn, right?" Blake and Coco nodded. "Yes, I know about where it is, why?"

"We're tired of the back and forth Weiss. You kill one of us, we steal something of yours. You find where we are, we destroy a warehouse. You send Angels and Rabbits, we kill your men. Why don't we just put an end to this," asked Blake. Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"What's the catch?" Weiss demanded.

"There isn't one. We just want this all to end as soon as possible, and if that means we all fight it out until there's only one person left on either side, so be it." Weiss looked past her scroll, clearly looking at someone. "Well?" Weiss thought it over a moment longer and sighed.

"I accept."

* * *

It would seem after all that taking Adam into custody (or out of prison more accurately) was one of the better decisions they've made. Will this battle help turn the tides? Will Nightshade be destroyed beyond recognition. Next week, Chapter 25: Battle of Grimm Valley (Part 1)!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	29. Chapter 25 - Grimm Valley (Part 1)

Hey everybody, I'd like to thank those subscribing, giving favorites, leaving kudos, and posting comments. We're over halfway to the end, and I appreciate all of you. I'm glad to know you're enjoying the story. I'd like to say a few things before I throw this up. I'll be on vacation next weekend, so all y'all will be getting two chapters this week. (Cheers roar in the background). I want to apologize for the way that these next three chapters are written however. Hopefully the page breaks help.

Normally when I write fights scenes, I like to jump around between different parts of the battle, so I'm hoping it doesn't come off as too disorienting. Again, thanks for reading and I hope continue to enjoy. - Silent Celica

* * *

 _This could be it. This could be the night that it all ends. The only question left is whether or not we'll come out on top._ Blake pulled on her boots as she sat on her couch and Coco entered her doorway. Her military strategist looked more than a little worried and she took a large swig of the coffee in her thermos.

"Are we doing the right thing Coco? Is this the only option that we had left?" Blake asked her. Coco propped herself against the door frame and sighed, removing her glasses with the same hand gripping the thermos, and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her free hand.

"I can't say for certain whether or not this is the _right_ thing to do, but I can say without a doubt in my mind that this is the most necessary thing that we could do. We've been at this now for roughly 5 years now. Every death makes this that much harder, and if we don't put everything on the line now, we don't stand a better chance of winning," Coco explained to her. She put her glasses back on and waited in the hallway for Blake to join her before she entered into the situation room. It had been 3 whole days since Sun had died at Adam's hand, none of which was actually the fault of Rose Petals, but it was the point at which Nightshade had decided that they had had enough. Enough hiding. Enough being scared. Enough struggling and fighting wildly for their lives at every step of the way. Today they intended to send a message, and it was a message of strength and determination. Coco's screen lit up, revealing that each member of Nightshade out in the field had been rigged with a sonar device that would allow Coco to map the area with relative ease. They had sent out the two drones they had the night before to analyze the lay of the land and provide them with a topographical map.

Blake put her earpiece in and watched as the screen lit up, providing a strange black and white pulsing image of what Ruby was seeing. It reminded Blake of an ultrasound.

"You ready Ruby?" Coco asked her as she tried to find a comfortable position to sit but failed. Her nerves were too high strung. It was so bad that Blake noted the coffee pot sitting at the back of Coco's desk, still steaming, but half empty. Blake turned her attention to the screen again. Half of her thought that it was a bad idea, but the other half of her vaguely remembered brutally murdering Adam to avenge Sun. She wasn't sure her mind and body could take much more.

"Ready as we're gonna be," Ruby replied, her voice determined.

"Don't forget the plan, and we'll have the upper hand." Coco looked at Blake who gave a subtle nod. "The Battle at Grimm Valley is underway."

* * *

Joseph stepped off of Weiss's airship with the twins as it hovered near the ground momentarily, doing its best to remain hidden in the tree line.

"I can help. I don't need to stay back and watch from the ship you know," Weiss told them as she placed her hand on Myrtenaster and prepared to step off. Rowan held his hand up, stopping her, and he looked away from her at Ivory. Ivory's eyes were filled with despair. He knew she was nervous and neither of them had been a setting like this before. Ivory secretly wanted Weiss to come with them and help, but she knew that it contradicted everything that they had been trained for, and everything that had been required of them. They were to keep Weiss out of harm's way no matter what Weiss told them. Those were the instructions that they had been given by Jade.

"It'll be better if you stay back Ms. Schnee. It's for your safety," Ivory tried to remind her. Weiss folded her arms, begrudgingly forced to comply, but less than pleased with the fact. "We have an army under the command of Joseph. There's no way that we can lose this battle. There's no way that there's more than 20 of them. Just try and enjoy yourself and we can take care of the rest."

"I'll stay here on the ship, but if at any point it looks like we're losing, I _will_ be joining the battle. That's not something that you'll be able to stop me from doing," she informed them. The twins glanced at Joseph and he gave them a smirk, nodding.

"Of course," Joseph agreed. "I think that sounds fair Ms. Schnee. We shall see you when this is done." They looked at him in disbelief as the ship lifted back into the air and stayed a safe distance from the valley itself, where they anticipated most of the fighting would happen.

"Joseph, you can't tell her that! If Jade finds out she'll kill you," Ivory yelled at him. Rowan turned away, an intrigued smile planted on his face as he headed towards the edge of the woods and peered out across the valley at the opposing side. He could only hope Jade would kill him, otherwise he could take it upon himself. After he had walked in on them, Jade confronted him, reminding him that she was purely doing it to keep Joseph around and in line. It made Rowan wonder if he should threaten to leave if she didn't screw him too. The thought was nauseating but all too tempting at the same time. Ivory placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her. "Where are they?"

"I don't see any of them yet," Rowan told her. A bullet slammed into his shoulder without warning and he dropped to his knees, another bullet slamming into his other shoulder. "Argh!"

"What the hell was that!?" She shouted as she threw her wings over both of them. "Are you okay?!" He nodded as he grunted, his semblance working hard to repair the damage. "Damn. I didn't realize that they have a sniper."

"I don't think that any of us realized that," Rowan told her. "Can you get a visual on Joseph?" She peeked out quickly, looking frantically about, a bullet ricocheted off of the top of her wing beside her ear, and she quickly ducked back in.

"No. This sniper is going to cause us some real problems if we can't get out of here!" Rowan shrugged his shoulders, stretching his back in the process before pushing through her wings and running out, heading back into the woods. "Wait a minute!" Ivory was terrified, they had never been is such a massive fight, and they typically fought with an advantage. She ran after her brother, wings spread behind her to block any gunfire. Joseph ran past her and she stopped a moment to try and stop him, but he had already reached the ridge. He cracked his knuckles and slid down into the valley. "Hey!"

"You pansies can wait all you want, I'm going to go make things happen!" He called back to them as he leapt over the ledge and slid down into the valley below. When he reached the bottom and regained his footing, he noted the Nightshade members pouring into the bottom with him. Joseph placed a hand on his ear, activating his comms to communicate with the twins. "Don't send anyone else yet. They still haven't shown themselves."

"Who is down there with you then?" Ivory inquired. Joseph chuckled as he noted being surrounded by eight Neos.

"An old acquaintance of sorts," he replied. He looked at a few of them, they all stood ready with their parasols twirling behind them. There was something different about them though, they all had eyes that were silver. "Neo is it?" They all nodded. "I didn't realize you could do this." One of them made a run for him. His fist smashed through the clone as two more made an effort from behind. He spun around, grabbing the one by the arm, and ducking under the other's kick attack. She sailed over him and as he followed through he smashed the second clone with the one he was still gripping. That left five and they all moved in at once, parasols open and in front of them, as if trying to block him in. He wasn't sure what purpose it would serve, seeing as he could simply smash through her doubles and they'd all be dealt with. His cloak lit up with gravity Dust and he smashed the ground with his fist, the shockwave was enough to disperse the others. As they disappeared, a large war hammer smashed into his torso and sent him sliding back.

"You must be Joseph!" Nora exclaimed. She swung her hammer around again and he caught it this time using the earth Dust in his shawl to coat his hands in rock. "Now Ren!" Ren leapt down and landed behind Joseph, forcing him to immediately let go of the hammer and turn to face him. He swung for Ren, but found Stormflower matching his every move.

"You can send them any time now!" Joseph exclaimed hoping the twins would hear him. Rowan took note but was busy trying to make out the sniper's location.

"Should we help him?" asked Ivory as she chased after her brother back towards the army.

"What has he ever done for us?" Rowan asked her. "Give him a few more minutes and then we can send in some help. I've only seen two others head into the valley with him. Nightshade is waiting for something, I'm just not sure what." Ivory walked back further into the woods, the soldiers all standing in a large, organized mass. They remained motionless and none of them said a word. They were made up of Rose Petals, Officers, Knights, Dust Knights, and a Paladin or two. It was more than enough to wipe out the rest of Nightshade, but her stomach turned. She knew they weren't meant to question anything, and that they were only there to protect Weiss, but she had the slightest feeling that something was off.

"Do you think Ruby is out there?" Ivory asked. Rowan looked back at her, his eyes showed a tinge of fear.

"I don't know," He told her, mostly because he hoped that wasn't the case. They had heard stories about Ruby, and what she was capable of was enough to bring despair to any mortal that aligned with Salem. He moved back to her and rubbed her shoulders. "What I do know is that whether she's out there or not, we can't let Weiss see her."

"I think that might be easier said than-" Ivory was cut off as bullets riddled through the area, causing Ivory to dive on Rowan out of instinct and cover them with her wings. She removed her bow and transformed it into its axe form as she quickly flew out, her brother close behind. He undid his chain, both ends ready in his hands as they spotted four members of Nightshade in the midst of their ranks.

"What the hell? How'd they get past us?!" Rowan shouted. Ash and her Ursa grabbed him by the wing as he flew past and slammed him to the ground. He wrenched away from Aku and spun around, throwing his hook out to find that they had disappeared. Ivory landed quickly and shoved through their men to reach the group, she could already tell that Rowan would be on a short fuse today, and if they didn't turn this around quickly, Weiss would get involved. That was the worst case scenario and it was the last thing they needed.

"Say hello to Team Sun minus One!" Neptune shouted out as Sage swung his sword around, forcing the men to scramble back.

"Plus one," Fox added, bouncing in place on his feet, ready to strike. Scarlet stood back to back with Neptune.

"Don't just stand there!" Ivory shouted at the men. "Shoot them! What the hell are we paying all of you for!?" She looked back expecting to see Rowan, but he was taking off, placing himself above the trees, surveying the opposing side and making sure that there was no sign of Ruby. "Do you see her?!"

"No!" He called back. He dropped suddenly due to the sniper spotting him again, and landed in the woods, throwing his hook into the mass, and pulling Sage out with his incredible strength. He dragged him through the mass, smashing through their own militants in the process and batting Sage's sword away as he arrived. "Stop this now, or I'll kill you! I know how much your leaders value every stupid life." Coco could hear him over the comms unit and looked at Blake. Blake shook her head.

"They're fine yet!" Blake told her. "Neo, grab Scarlet and Neptune and get them out of there for now. Then get Fox over to Sage. Ash, you're up again!"

"As soon as I can, I'll help!" Ash called back. "I'm a touch preoccupied with a paladin!" Rowan's eyes began to flare and he smirked as he slammed his fist into Sage, Dust energy building up around his hands and throwing Sage back with an explosion. He breathed heavily as his body began to shift into overdrive.

"Not yet!" Ivory yelled. "Save it for Ruby!" Sage blocked a throw of Rowan's hook and leapt backwards.

"Coco, these two are in on it! They know about Ruby!" He shouted. Ivory and Rowan both charged, Rowan flapped his wings, flying straight up and revealing Ivory, her axe swinging down for Sage. Fox leapt into the way at the last moment, blocking her blow with his right blade. He triggered the blade, causing it to swing out quickly, knocking Ivory's axe to the side and he leapt, kicking her in the side and sending her sliding away. Rowan landed behind them, his hook latching Fox's legs and throwing him onto his face. He leapt for the men and Sage spun around, knocking Rowan away.

"They're pissing me off Ivory…" Rowan growled through barred teeth. She moved quickly to him, a blast of gravity Dust from Fox's gauntlets slamming off of her spread wings as she arrived. She looked at him, he struggled to stay under control.

"Wait a little longer. We can get rid of these two and pinpoint the sniper, but it's gonna take a moment," She explained. He grumbled, fighting his rage as his veins bulged. He clashed his hooks against each other and readied his next attack.

"We better make it quick." He growled. She nodded and flew straight up, allowing him to charge the two as Ivory fired an arrow ahead of him. The gravity tip exploded, throwing them both off of their feet and Rowan hooked Fox in the chest, running past and pulling hard, launching him into the woods and through several trees. He rolled out of the way of an attack from Sage, leaping to his feet and blocking the next two blows. One of Ivory's arrows found Sage's back and the lightning Dust ignited, sending Sage onto the ground. Rowan moved towards him, hooks held high above his head. Ivory grabbed his arm. He looked back at her and looked her over.

"What?!" He demanded.

"Go find Ruby! I'll handle things here and keep the troops from attacking until the last moment," She told him. He nodded and took off, a bullet slamming into his chest from the sniper. He ignored it as Ivory fired an arrow across, the gravity Dust on the tip would be more than enough to force them out of their spot.

* * *

"How are things going so far," Blake asked Ruby who was huddled with Pyrrha and Reese.

"They seem like they're totally taken by surprise. You think they would have better prepared for a team that has someone with a teleporting semblance," Pyrrha explained to Blake.

"Keep your guard up. It's been a few minutes, and they might be on to us depending on how many semblance users are out there," Coco explained. Without warning, a hook flew in and wrenched Reese away who lost a grip on her board and it fell to the ground beside them. They looked up to find Rowan, who flew above them, holding Reese tight.

"Ruby! What a pleasure to meet you again, now that you aren't in a coma and what not," Rowan explained as he chuckled. "I don't think we've been formally introduced yet."

"Coco! One of the hired security from the wedding is here! He has large bird wings!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Jade _and_ Rowan? I'm guessing his sister is there somewhere too," Coco informed them. "Keep an eye out! They're very dangerous!" Reese flicked her wrist, her board flying towards both of them. Rowan lifted his hand to block the hoverboard, but Pyrrha adjusted its angle mid flight and it nailed him square in the nose. He dropped Reese who landed on her board and Pyrrha used the opportunity to slam Rowan against the ground using his chain. May landed on her butt from the tree she'd been perched in and Ruby glanced back at her.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked. May nodded as she stood, rubbing her butt. "Move to a new position in the trees again and keep firing across the ridge!" Ruby exclaimed. "Neo! It's time to put Ash and Aku into position if they aren't there already!" Ruby extended her scythe and sauntered over to Rowan, his face planted in the snow. "So you faked my death, to make it look like you were there to protect Weiss, is that right?" Rowan laughed into the dirt until it turned into a sort of hysteria blended with psychopathy.

* * *

After several exchanges between Ren and Nora, Joseph finally found his opening and grabbed Ren's guns, pulling him down and kneeing him in the chin. Ren fell backwards, landing on his back and lying on the ground momentarily. The hit had been enough to mess with Ren's balance and his ears rang as he tried to regain his wits.

"Hey!" Came a yell from behind Joseph. He smiled coyly and turned to face her, her face displaying a horrifying and haunting smile. "Nobody hurts my Ren!" Her hammer became its gun form in one swift motion, and Nora blasted Joseph away from the two of them. He slid through the snow for a while before finally coming to a stop, shocked at the outcome of the fight. No one got rid of him that easily! The gravity Dust lit his garment and he tore after the two of them again, throwing Ren out of his way and his fist was met with Nora's hammer. Both of them came to a standstill and his free fist found her stomach, launching her away.

"Whoever can hear me, it might be a great time to consider sending in the troops!" Joseph shouted. Ren meticulously hooked onto Joseph with Stormflower, turning the man and positioning him however he pleased, forcing him to take blow after blow. Joseph activated his fire dust and Ren's next hit caused an explosion that separated the two of them.

"Nora!" Ren yelled. He ran right for Joseph who planted his feet and swung as Ren approached. Ren leapt over the man anticipating the attack, and landed on his shoulders, leaping off and soaring through the air. He made a 180, facing Joseph again and crouched in the air as Nora's hammer thundered against his feet, sending him screaming back towards Joseph. Joseph smirked as he quickly activated his ice Dust and met Ren's attack fist first. Ren was covered in ice and he crashed to the ground, sliding past Joseph.

"Ren!" Nora ran at Joseph, using her hammer to vault herself over Joseph and swinging it back around before landing, nailing him in the back. He stumbled forward and found his feet quickly, turning back to face them once more.

"Not yet!" Ivory finally shouted in reply over the intercom. "We can wait a few more moments!" He glanced up at Rose Petal's ridge, there were still no men to be found.

"Why?! We're going to win this thing anyways, what good does waiting any longer do?!" Joseph called back. No reply came back though and Joseph looked back to where Ren and Nora had been. They were gone, they had escaped while he was distracted. He set his eyes on the enemy's cliff and prepared to run up when something crashed into his legs, throwing him onto his chest. The snow was cold on his hands and it only helped to fuel his rage more as he slowly stood and searched for his target. It didn't take him long, as she came down from above for another attack, but he caught her board above his head and swung, throwing her off. She bounded across the ground before coming to a stop and reaching towards him, pulling her hands back as if grasping something. He was thrown onto his face again and let the board go as it returned to her.

"The problem for all of you in this battle is that we're all fighting for freedom, and all of you are fighting for your dignity. We know we don't scare you, but if we don't make a statement now, Rose Petals wins, and Remnant will forever be at odds against Weiss. We care too much for her to let that happen." Joseph stood as Reese transformed her board into its gun form. He chuckled as he swayed slightly, hoping to give her the illusion of being off balance. He wanted her to underestimate him.

"Your small talk tells me a lot. So then Nightshade knows that it was someone else all along," Joseph asked. He smirked. He was impressed that they had figured it out. Though it could have very well been blind optimism, he couldn't be sure.

"We even have a pretty good idea of who. What we don't know is why." She told him. He grunted as he took a lumbering step towards her.

"Perhaps if you strike me down I might tell you. I'd have no choice if I was but moments from death," he explained to her. She opened fire from where she was, still too far away for him to get to her before she could dodge. He quickly activated his earth Dust and coated his arm in rock, blocking most of her bullets from hitting him. They might have been weaker, but Nightshade wasn't going to be fooled as easily as they would have hoped. He still had a decent amount of aura, but he was ever mindful of the vial that was taped to his chest under his armor. Alice had assured him that it was shatterproof. That, however, was his absolute last option.

"You must take me for some sort of fool," Reese stated. She laughed and flipped her hair out of her face. "Too much for you to handle?" Joseph cracked his neck to both sides and returned with an unnerving smile.

"I was hoping for more of a challenge actually," he told her. He covered his mouth for a moment, turning away. "You two had better grab Ruby quick or Weiss will be down here before you know it."

* * *

Ivory dove out of the way of Aku and Nora as they both mounted their attack at the same time.

"They're suicidal!" Ivory yelled over her comm. Her axe met Nora's hammer as Nora's repeatedly swung, driving Ivory back further and further through the snow. "Attack!" Ivory managed to push Nora back as she was slammed into by Ashley's tonfa which had been loaded with gravity Dust. Ivory flew back towards the army, flopping through the charging ranks and coming to a stop on her side. She coughed, blood coming up as she hacked and gasped for air. Maybe they had underestimated Nightshade. Perhaps Nightshade had been waiting for this moment all along. She pulled herself to her feet, her mind a blur as the sound of armor and boots thundered past her.

 _Ivory. Take your brother and run as far as you can away from here._

Mother…? Her mind slipped, vision blurring as she doubled over again from the fading pain, she looked up and saw the men, grappling her parents and dragging them to their feet.

 _Go! Go Ivory! Don't look back! Do what you need to do to stay alive! Just go!_

But… Mother… She watched as the men dragged her mother and father to their feet and put a bullet in each of their heads. Their bodies hit the ground lifeless. She screamed as she dove for her parents, but her brother held her back, dragging her away.

 _We need to go Ivory! We're not strong enough to fight them. Come on!_

Rowan… She found her feet, the soldiers still rushing past her. Her axe formed back into a bow and she flew into the air. She was stronger now. They both were. It didn't matter how badly Nightshade wanted it, Rowan and her would have the strength they were promised and that meant defeating Nightshade and reviving Salem. She flew over the military as it poured into the valley and headed for her brother.

* * *

Rowan continued to laugh and as Ruby grabbed his head to make him look at her, he burst into flames. Ruby let go from being startled and being burnt, taking several quick steps backwards. She looked at her hand, the burn was bad, but with her silver eyes activated, her aura quickly healed the injury. The snow around Rowan wasted no time melting and the flames grew larger and hotter, licking at his body, and burning at his skin. Rowan began to stand and Pyrrha shook violently as she struggled against his determination.

"Pyrrha?" Ruby asked her. Rowan gave them a grimace as he strained against her for the ability to stand up.

"I can't… hold him down…" Pyrrha managed. She gasped and released her hold on him, stumbling back from the force. She stood beside Ruby, her weapon ready. "What is he? I've seen him like this before, at your wedding. Is he a demon?" Ruby's eyes lit up and she slowly levitated off of the ground, preparing to attack.

"I don't know, but I'm not sure that we want to find out," Ruby told her. A stray arrow flew past Ruby and she watched it for a moment before it exploded releasing gravity Dust and throwing Ruby to the ground and Pyrrha in the opposite direction, indenting the earth. Ivory landed beside her brother.

"What are you doing Rowan?" She asked him. He slapped her, sending her reeling away and she left her face in disbelief. _It was happening, wasn't it_? She knew he'd break one day, but she never imagined it would happen now.

"I'm just gonna let loose here while we have a nice chat with Ruby," he told her. He pointed at Pyrrha who shook in terror. "Stay out of this!" Ruby stood and planted her feet firmly, gripping Crescent Rose and preparing for Rowan to attack. He flapped his wings once, throwing Pyrrha and Ivory off of their feet but leaving Ruby unfazed as he rocketed towards her. She caught his feet with her staff, her own digging further into the frozen grass and dirt below. He leapt off, turning his entire body and gripping Crescent Rose as he landed, his heat intensifying as he tried to melt through the weapon. He looked up at Ruby, his flesh melting as fast as it could regenerate, leaving a constant image of horrifying muscle. He roared at her and she wrenched her scythe away, swinging it and hooking one of his wings. She fired the gun, not removing his wing as she had hoped, but throwing him to the ground once more.

"Pyrrha, go help somewhere else!" Ruby commanded. Pyrrha nodded, she had no real choice and she felt that if she stayed she would only be in the way. She sprinted for the ridge.

"You two had better grab Ruby quick or Weiss will be down here before you know it," Joseph's voice said over the radio. Rowan came up swinging and Ruby transformed into actual rose petals, teleporting behind him and shooting him in the middle of the back, slamming him into the dirt again. Ivory spun her staff over her head, running over to the two of them and exchanging glances off of Ruby's scythe handle. Ivory didn't understand how Ruby could be so good, it was like she knew what would happen before it happened. Ruby out maneuvered her and hooked her staff, pulling it out of her hands. She blasted Ivory away in a swift motion and turned back to Rowan.

"Rowan! Give up on your rage! You think better when you're not like this!" Ivory shouted at him. He cackled and stood, a blade of flames forming in his hands.

"Ivory." He said. It was as though everything had grown silent and he looked past Ruby at his sister. "Shut up." Ivory's eyes grew wide. He wasn't listening to her, something had happened that had caused him to snap and at this point, she didn't know if he was in there anymore. The only thing that was there now was his rage. Jade wasn't there to help talk him down either. His blade clashed against Ruby's and he pushed her further back into the woods, he couldn't risk Weiss seeing her, and he needed to separate her from her team. Ruby fired several shots, but they melted before they could reach his actual body. He looked himself over, pleased with the flames that licked away at his body and soul. If he just gave in to them, he could win this war. He didn't need Salem. And he sure as hell wouldn't need Jade at that point.

"Dammit Rowan!" Ivory shouted. Ruby rushed around him quickly, forming a cyclone and lifting him into the air and shot out above him, her scythe in spear form and ready to impale. He was still on fire, but in a few moments it wouldn't matter any longer and he would be dead. "Rowan!" Ruby slammed her weapon through his chest and brought him back down to the ground.

* * *

"Who says I'm not very challenging?" Reese asked watching him, spinning the lollipop on her mouth. Joseph looked back up at her and his cloak lit up with gravity, ice, and earth Dust. He knelt for a moment, raising one of his hands high above his head before crashing it against the ground, sending a thin layer of ice towards Reese which she couldn't see as it was hidden beneath what snow was left in that area of the valley. He moved quickly, sliding the last few steps and slamming his fist into her board as she blocked with it. The board stuck to her hands as rock formed from one hand to the other, leaving her without a weapon for a moment. Joseph used the gravity Dust to slam his fist through the board, sending it high into the air. As she watched it fly, he wound up his other fist while she was distracted and sent her flying through the air. She landed at least fifteen yards away and managed to stand as her board returned to her.

"I am saying that you aren't very challenging," Joseph replied. She looked him over and weighed up the situation. He was a force to be reckoned with, but as long as she didn't let him build up speed, Blake told her that he should be manageable. He was a heavy hitter, that was for sure, but it wasn't enough to scare or deter her, and she knew that he had taken more hits than she had up to this point. She gave a smile and threw her board under her feet, hovering in place for a moment as she tried to read him for anything that she might be able to use to her advantage. "Are we gonna fight here, or are you just going to over analyze the situation for the rest of the day? I have a lot more of you punks to wipe the floor with yet."

"I'm sure you do," Reese replied.

"Send in the first two angels," Joseph said over the microphone. There was static for a moment before someone replied. Reese still watched him for a long minute, it was almost as if she was waiting for him to finish setting up his men.

"Ivory instructed us not to send them in until…"

"I don't care! I want the first two sent in now! If we don't start pushing back on these people real soon, there is going to be hell to pay!" Joseph stated. He looked back up to find that Reese was missing. "Oh shi-"

"Surprise!" She yelled. It was stupid of her, but it wasn't enough time for him to completely face her, and as he tried to, he was met with a hoverboard to the face. He stumbled away, feeling the blood trickling from his nose. His aura was working as hard as it could, sparing no expense at trying to heal every scrape and cut. He either needed a break soon, or needed to decide if he was going to use the steroid concoction that they had finally perfected. He shook his head. No, he didn't need to use that for such an average fighter. He reached up and blocked her second swing, only knowing that it was coming because he was slightly dazed and he knew that she would try and take advantage of the fact.

"I think I'm done playing around here," he told her. He grabbed her board as she tried for another swing and he wrenched it away, winding back, and batting her away. He threw the board at her and it landed in the snow beside her. The cold made her eager to stand again, and she did so quickly as she leapt onto her board. "If we're just gonna keep taking turns hitting each other, I can promise you that you aren't going to win this thing."

"Joseph! What the hell were those flames that exploded into the air deep in enemy territory?!" Weiss demanded an answer. Reese rode at him, her board slamming against his chest three times as she alternated her footing. He knocked her away. _What the hell is Rowan doing over there?_

"That was our signal for the angels. Nothing to worry about Ms. Schnee," he told her trying to reassure her. Joseph knew that it could only be one thing, and he wondered momentarily if they'd be able to take Ruby down if Rowan had already gone that far to try and get rid of her. Just then the valley began to fill with soldiers and knights and Joseph felt a slight relief until Reese was joined by Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha.

* * *

Will Ruby be able to handle Rowan? Will the heroes be able to handle Joseph? Next up, Chapter 26 - The Battle of Grimm Valley (Part 2)!


	30. Chapter 26 - Grimm Valley (Part 2)

"Rowan!" Ivory cried out. She quickly moved to her brother as Ruby stood a few feet away, watching as Ivory wept over her brother, his fire had dulled, but hadn't completely gone out. She looked him over and placed her head on his chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat, but the heat was too much to handle and she shifted away from him, turning back to look at Ruby. Ruby looked at Ivory, not a tinge of sympathy to be found in her eyes. His flames died completely and Ivory choked on her rage, tears streaming as she looked at her brother. "Murderer!"

"You were trying to kill me first!" Ruby yelled. "And what about Weiss? You're going to tell me that after you finished your plans that she was going to be allowed to live?!" Ivory looked at Ruby again, her eyes frantically searching Ruby's. What was she saying? They were supposed to protect Weiss, harming her was never part of the plan. Ever. Rowan coughed and he slowly rolled to his side as his flames slowly returned, growing back to their previous strength. His wings assisted him in standing and he chuckled, his expression unsettling. The crazed look was still there, it hadn't once left his eyes and he looked past his sister at Ruby.

"Please Rowan. Don't you remember?" Ivory asked. Ruby's question had left her in a state of confusion, but surely if he remembered the horrible things people had said about him when they thought he was a monster, he would turn away from the insanity. He looked at her for a fleeting moment before he returned to Ruby, flying past his sister and dueling Ruby with his flame sword again. _It doesn't matter if he remembers, does it? He's finally giving everyone who ever thought he was a monster what they wanted. A monster._

"I am not about to lose to you," Ruby exclaimed. She quickly loaded her gun with specialized ammo, too quick for the naked eye to see what she had put in, and teleported back several feet, unloading a clip at Rowan. The ice Dust ammo met Rowan with resistance, but the more she fired, the more that hit him and began cooling him down, but it did absolutely nothing to slow him. He ran to her and sliced again, this time predicting her movements and slicing through her cloak just below her bosom, tearing her dress. She looked up in shock and blocked a few more blows as she slid back. He certainly was something else.

"Too close for comfort?" He asked. He flapped his wings throwing her back but she dissipated into Rose Petals, floating back around and landing between him and his sister. "I'm hoping the next one draws some blood!"

"I wouldn't count on it!" Ruby used her scythe to block Rowan's blade, planting it into the ground and using the staff to support herself, extending her body and kicking Ivory back. She fired a shot at Rowan, throwing him back and causing Crescent Rose to grind through the earth, bringing Ruby to a stop a few feet from Ivory. She spun the scythe around herself, missing Ivory who leapt back at her swing. Crescent Rose came to a stop on her shoulders and she fired, knocking Ivory's feet out from under her. "Why? Why are the two of you siding with Jade? I don't know what she has planned, but it can't be worth all this."

"You're dedicated to your cause, and we're dedicated to ours!" Rowan shouted at her. He ran for her, catching her scythe blade with his hooks. She spun around, launching him off towards his sister. Ivory faced away from him quickly, closing her wings and allowing him to leap off as she threw them open, launching him back towards Ruby. Ruby exploded into Rose Petals as Rowan shot through the space she had just been, face planting and tumbling across the ground, coming to a stop as his body met a tree. "Dammit!"

"Ruby, how are you holding up?" Blake asked her. Ruby's chest heaved as she felt the torn material on her top. She peaked around the tree behind her briefly.

"Okay for now, but if we don't win this battle soon, I don't think I'm going to make it," She breathed exasperated. "Using my eyes is more taxing than I expected, especially against this guy."

"Don't talk like that! Hold them off for just a little while longer!" Ruby shook her head as she placed her hands on her knees.

"I'll do my best."

* * *

Joseph fell back into the ranks of the military pouring over the cliff, beginning a large scale battle in the middle of the rift. He was satisfied. They would be preoccupied, and he would be able to make surprise attacks and sucker punches that they would be able to do nothing about. He turned back and looked up at the ridge, looking for the angels. A paladin slid into the fray on its stomach, scattering troops and forcing Joseph to slide out of the way. It had been largely dismembered and Ash stood at the top of the cliff with Aku behind her. She nodded to Joseph, extending her tonfas to each side without looking, taking out two soldiers with a sudden hit to the jaw. He grumbled in frustration and shoved his men out of the way as they bumped into him.

"Look!" Shouted Pyrrha. Joseph turned quick to look at her and then back at the ridge where her eyes were focused. She had spotted the angels. He smiled and ran for her, this was the perfect distraction. His cloak glowed with gravity Dust as he closed the gap and a sudden burst put his fist crashing through her jaw. He was satisfied with himself for only a moment before Pyrrha's spear knocked his feet out and her shield crashed against his chest. It remained pinned there as Nora leapt through the air, smashing it against his chest. He felt his aura break and he gasped as he held the shield up off of his chest, struggling for all that he had. Impossible! He had no way of reaching the vial, perhaps this would be his end! He struggled harder, but Pyrrha refused to remove it. "Nora, Ren!"

"On it!" Ren yelled as the two of them took off for the angels, Nolan and Mercury. As they reached the ridge, Joseph watched as Mercury leapt through the air into view, slamming his foot into Ren's chest and launching him into the valley below. He landed, moving quickly and meeting Nora's hammer with his foot. He made several quick kicks, each blow landing on the hammer, before one broke through and knocked her away. Pyrrha dragged Nolan and Mercury into the fight using her powers, easing up just enough for Joseph to free himself and take cover on the far side of the broken mech. His chest heaved as he gripped the vial, shaking violently. He promised himself that he would never feel weak again, but if he drank it now, that was the end of it. There wasn't another batch, another chance. He thrust the vial back into his armor and quickly fastened it back into place as he slid further into the paladin to hide.

He only had to wait for his aura to return, then he was going to kill the girl with the hover board. There was no reason he should have any problems taking her down now that the redhead would be occupied with the angels. There were still two angels left to send in yet. He had no reason to panic. He only desired strength, and through strength he would complete Adam's dream of a world where Faunus would rule everything. Adam was the reason that he was here. He was the reason that Joseph had continued on. Benjamin had raised Joseph as his own and despite the fact that Adam hated his father, he took a liking to Joseph for his abilities. Was Adam using him? Absolutely, but Joseph enjoyed feeling needed and feeling powerful.

Jade was a completely different story. Everything that she did was only for her own good and she often made Joseph feel useless. For some strange reason he couldn't help but feel pity for her for being so vain. Not to mention that she was something entirely different in bed. A lewd grin rested on his face as he shifted his weight, sitting up. At any moment his aura would be back and he could return to the battle. He crawled to the end of the paladin closest to Pyrrha and the others and watched for a moment. Every attack that they attempted to make on her she simply knocked away using her semblance. He slid back down towards the middle of his hold. Not everyone could be so fortunate.

He felt it then, his aura return. He slid out the far side quickly to be greeted with both of Reese's guns in his back.

"Going somewhere?" She asked him. He chuckled slightly and shook his head, raising his hands above his head.

"I guess not," he told her looking over his shoulder. "You're got me and there's no way that I can get away now. What to do?" He turned quickly, knocking her hands down and activating his earth Dust. He slammed his fist into her, turning her to stone." His hand was pulled to the side, Neo's parasol had latched his arm and pulled it away. Her boot met his face and he slid through the snow towards the angels and Team JNPR. Neo stepped in between Reese and Joseph, a smile on her face as her eyes changed colors. Joseph was confused by the sudden change in appearance and she charged him, her blade just missing his shoulder as he ducked, slamming his shoulder into her chest, and throwing her over him. She landed on her back and rolled out of the way as he swung around, his fist planting where she had been.

"How about I cut in for a dance?!" Mercury called out as he landed between them from above. Reese broke free and fell back, scooting away in the snow. Mercury and Neo went after each other as Joseph ran past, sights set on Reese. Reese reassembled her board at the last moment, his fist slammed into it as she used it to block his blows and she slid back untouched. He kept up with her, his fist smashing against it the moment she stopped. He repeated this three more times until she reached the wall off the valley behind her. He tried again and she dove out of the way, his fist leaving a small crater in the terrain.

"How lucky can you bastards get?!" Joseph yelled. He reached out quickly to try and grab her but she rode away from him on her board before riding back towards him. Watching her filled him with frustration. How many times was she going to try that attack before she realized that it wouldn't work? She leapt off of the board before reaching him this time. It spun with unbelievable speed, but he was still able to catch it. As he snatched it out of the air, he noted that she was only a few steps behind it. He twisted his body away from her, ready to bat her into the cliff side. He followed through, only to have the board transform into its gun form at the last moment, falling apart as it reached her. She snatched the gun from out of the air, avoiding being hit by the other in his hand, and opened fire on Joseph.

The shots tossed him backwards and he slide across the ground, shifting his weight and running for her at full speed. How had she loaded the gravity Dust that quickly, unless she had loaded it in advance and she had it activate on some sort of delay. He was impressed, Nightshade was more serious of a problem than they had imagined. He barreled for her as she continued shooting at him, but the bullets ricochet off. He activated his wind Dust and ran past her, the strength of the streamlined air around him threw her back against the rock wall, leaving deep cuts on both of her arms, and mangling her hoodie. He came to a stop, grinning as he caught his breath and walked over towards her.

She grabbed her stomach, falling to her knees, the pain was all over and her aura couldn't take care of all of it at once. She frantically grabbed out, the other half of board still in his hand broke free and joined its partner and she lifted it above her head with one hand, trembling in fear. He picked her up by the board, shaking it out of her hand, and grabbing her by the neck.

"Help…" She gasped, but it wasn't audible enough that Coco or Blake would be able to hear her.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Joseph asked. He chuckled. "If you don't speak up, no one is going to hear you, and they won't be able to save you again." Reese's body squirmed frantically as she tried to break free. Suddenly it stopped, and she looked him directly in the eyes. A chill ran down his spine and he gasped, his hand struggling to maintain its grip. "What's wrong with you? Giving up?"

"I'm not afraid anymore." Reese gave a weak smile and Joseph felt a horror grip him deep inside.

"You're going to die! Why aren't you afraid?" He needed an answer. How could she smile like that? It left him with a sick and disturbing feeling in his soul.

"Ruby. She taught me so much since she came back, but the most important thing that she taught me was that there was no greater way to die than as a hero who was trying to save the ones they care about," she breathed. His mouth slacked open and his eyes narrowed as he lifted her above his head, looking up into her eyes.

"Nonsense! The only true power in this life is strength! Dying is weakness!" She choked, gripping at his hand to no avail.

"Is it?" She asked gargling. His nerves snapped and his hand moved to her skull. He gripped the front of her face and pounded her skull against the natural rock wall behind her. He knew after the first time that she was dead, but he continued until he was satisfied and he dropped her in the snow. _Is it?_ Her words rang in his head as he looked back at her and then down at his hands. _Strength is true power!_

 _Is it?_

* * *

"Come out Ruby. You're testing my patience, and my sister will tell you that it's not a wise thing to do," Rowan growled as he moved slowly through the forest, deeper into the woods. Ivory followed at a safe distance, feeling as though he had come down slightly from his power trip. Ivory wondered if they were winning and hoped that Weiss was safe in her airship, staying out of the fight. Ruby let out a battle cry and hooked Ivory, dragging her for quite some distance before coming to a stop near the edge of the valley. The sudden stop threw Ivory into the battle below and she covered herself immediately with her wings. Ivory remained inside the safety of her wings for a moment. _Why did Ruby throw me down here? I'm of no threat to her, not the way that she and my brother are fighting._

Maybe Ruby had seen the confusion in her eyes. She had suggested that Jade intended to hurt Weiss, and Ivory froze. Weiss had been the person they protect for over 5 years now, and Ruby was suggesting that they would turn on her. Ivory threw her wings open and flapped hard, throwing herself high into the air and back to where Rowan and Ruby were fighting each other. Surely Rowan didn't intend on hurting Weiss, did he? Weiss had done so much for mankind, so much for them. Ivory landed short of the battleground and shook her head. No, it couldn't be true, Ruby was just trying to get into her head. _But what if she's right?_ Ivory ran the rest of the way, stopping short as most of the trees had been set on fire by her brother and the two of them battled inside of a ring of fire.

Not much could be seen from where she was standing. Her eyes would catch instant occasional movement as the two would clash in the middle, Crescent Rose colliding off of Rowan's Flamesword. It was a sight to behold. Ivory flapped her wings, clearing a way through the fire for her to enter their arena and she charged in after Ruby who teleported away. Rowan came to a stop next to his sister and she stood beside him, slowly looking around them in every direction.

"You should get out of her Ivory," he told her. "It isn't safe!"

"When has that ever stopped me before?" She asked him. He shoved her out of the way without a hint of warning, and Ruby's scythe moved past him, hooking his arm and firing off a shot. His right arm was torn off of his body and he hit the ground, pain coursing through his body. Ivory leapt onto him, covering them with her wings. She could hear Ruby on the outside, unloading as many clips as she could into Ivory's wings. "Rowan, this has to stop! You're not invincible and I don't want you to die!" He shook his head as he spit out blood, his arm slowly reforming thanks to his semblance.

"I'm not going to die. I'm just getting warmed up!" He tried to push his way out, but she grabbed him and looked him in the eyes. "Ivory!"

"What if it's your head next time?! I don't want to lose you Rowan! I need you!" She screamed at him. He shoved her off and tried to shove through her wings again.

"Stop freaking out and let me out of here!" She could see the rage in his eyes, growing in intensity. She knew there was no stopping him, but she had to try. His life was more valuable to her than them losing this battle. Even if it meant failing Jade, her brother came first.

"No!" She yelled at him. He turned around, swinging at her, his hook finding her legs and throwing her onto her back. He head butted her and it was enough to make her lose her grip with her wings. He broke free and flew after Ruby as Ivory lie dazed on the ground. _Rowan…_

No, that wasn't Rowan…

That was a monster.

* * *

Dorian watched the battle on the wall of the training room, the feeds and map activity were being projected directly onto the wall where he and about a hundred other Rose Petal members followed the action. Dorian watched as Joseph charged into the valley and took on the small girl with the clones. They all watched him get knocked on his ass several times, and watched him crawl out. Beyond that, they hadn't seen much of the cabinet in action and Dorian took the lull in the fighting as the perfect time to leave the room and head to the archive room. He still needed a few answers yet. He had gone back the night before and grabbed the hard drive again. He had seen the woman named Velvet on the video that Ash had shown him, and the woman looked like she was clinging to life by the skin of her teeth.

Dorian remembered Weiss making the deal with Alice. The promise that Velvet wouldn't be hurt and that they would only need her DNA once and she'd be taken care of. Memory erased. Sent far away. But she hadn't been sent far away, the time stamp on the security feed was recent, and Dorian had the feeling now that she was actually very close by. The elevator door opened and Jade stood on the other side, she looked at him with her arms folded. _Great, the last person that I needed to run into._ She stepped onto the elevator with him, a satisfied smile on her face as the elevator continued down to the basement.

"Still looking forward to cashing in that favor?" She asked. He swallowed hard and tried to remain staring at the door in front of him, but she reached over and pressed the emergency stop, sauntering over to him and breathing hot in his ear. "I know you must have thought about it. At least once. Maybe it's all you can think about, hm?" She gave a slight chuckle, heat rolling down his body. What was she doing, he knew she didn't mean this. She grabbed him by the arm and placed her other hand on his chest, shoving him against the wall. "So what's it going to be?"

"What are you doing?" he asked her, his body quivering in confusion. Her teeth found his lip and she bit softly, another wave of sensation crashing through his body. She meant to kill him, he was convinced of it, but he was paralyzed, his body wouldn't move.

"Do you know what I love most about snakes?" She asked him laughing. The air was heavy and she ran her hand over his chest, shoving him harder against the wall. "We like to play with our prey before we kill it." She removed his jacket from his shoulder and bit hard through his under shirt. Pain and pleasure battered his body, still unable to move outside of what she allowed. Confusion set in. She had bit him at least two times now, but she hadn't used her poison on him yet. What did she get out of messing with him like this? "I intend to repay you properly Dorian. And then I intend to find out how much you know." He swallowed hard.

"Know about what?" He asked, his voice wavering. She giggled and undid the top button on his shirt.

"You're the naïve one here Dorian. I know all about you and Ashley talking to each other before she 'escaped'." She kissed his neck and he twisted his head away. All that he had to do was reach his pocket watch! His hand slowly lifted but she pushed it back down by his side and looked deep into his eyes. "Now now Dorian, you only get to enjoy me once."

"Jade. Please. You don't need to repay me. Really," he protested. She pulled lightly on his ear and kissed his jawline.

"But I want to Dorian. I want you to be loosened up and completely defenseless when I get my information. The venom works just fine and all, but it's not as fun as toying with you, and I have nothing but time today. Joseph is going to be gone all day, and when he gets back, he's not going to be in the mood." She laughed again as she began to slip her dress off of her left shoulder. "Let's see how bad I get you going once I lose some of these dreadful clothes, hm?"

"I'll tell you!" He shouted. She smirked, her hand dragging her dress back onto her shoulder as she formed one of her daggers and held it firm against his bare chest. He shuddered, the glass was cold. "I'll tell you what you want to know!" She brushed her hair back with her hand and started the elevator again.

"See? Wasn't that more fun than me making you tell me? I knew you'd come to your senses Dorian. You're not as stupid as the cabinet thinks you are. Now, your options are to follow me off of the elevator and tell me what I want to know, or you can try and leave and we can do it all over again tonight. Honestly, I don't mind either way, I was having more fun in that female dominant situation than you could possibly know, Joseph never lets me have fun like this." She explained to him. She stopped as they left the elevator and she waited a moment for him to fix his clothes. "I guess a third option would be for you to rewind time with your powers and try to avoid what just happened in the elevator, but let's be practical, you wouldn't have been able to avoid me forever."

"So what all do you want to know?" He asked, trying to seem like he knew more than he did. She was surprised that he had given up so easily, but he knew that she was right. If he rewound time or tried to get away, she would just have her way with him later and at this point, he couldn't risk her thinking that he was lying. Not to mention that it wouldn't really hurt anything for her to know.

"Why don't you tell me what you think I want to hear," she asked as she led him to the far end of the hangar.

"I assume you want to hear what Ashley had to say to me," he told her. She chuckled.

"You would assume correctly, but let's stop beating around the bush. Just spit it out already," she told him. She moved close to him again. "Or do you want to go another round with me tonight?" He shoved her back, shaking his head. "So noble, yet pathetic."

"She told me that Velvet is still here, and that she's not in the best condition," Dorian told her. Jade looked him over. She looked intrigued.

"You mean in our possession? That much was a given," Jade told him. She walked away from him towards one of the side rooms that branched off of the hangar. "If that's all then…"

"No, that she's still in the building." Jade stopped in her tracks and moved back to Dorian, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Really?! Where?!" Jade asked. Her eyes lit up, he had only seen this look once before, and it was when they were putting to a vote whether or not Ashley would join the cabinet. He had her where he wanted her.

"I don't know if I should tell you, this seems like a pretty secret piece of information, and if even you don't know where it is-" She cut him off with a hard kiss on the lips, taking his breath. After a long moment she threw him back and he stumbled for a few steps.

"With Ashley, you left me no choice. Don't make me poison you Dorian. This can be our little secret. It'll be my way of repaying you for before. I won't kill you," she told him as she strutted over to him again. "What's it gonna be?" He grabbed the piece of paper out of his breast pocket and handed it to her.

"Does that mean anything to you?" he asked. She looked it over and a smile crept over her face.

"Oh, I know exactly where she's keeping her now." She folded it back up and shoved it into her bra as she walked away. "Leverage is a powerful thing…"

"Hey! Where is that?!" He called out. She waved her hand, dismissing him.

"I'll tell you tonight!" She looked back and winked at him as she closed the door to the side room. He shuddered slightly, he was afraid that she was going to say that.

* * *

Neo ran her blade through Mercury's chest as he lay under her on the ground, looking away as she plunged it deeper. At one point she may have enjoyed killing, but Yang had taught her years ago that it was only to be looked at as a necessary evil. She climbed off of him and watched as the Fallen Angel effect wore off, the poison floating off into the air, before Mercury's body dissipated, becoming smoke that rolled away into the sky. Neo teleported up to the cliff, running back towards the Rose Petal's camp to see if they had all been cleared out. The drop site looked relatively empty with the exception of two Fallen Angel pods that had landed in the middle, blinking because they were still armed. Neo pulled out her scroll quickly and sent a picture.

It failed to send, her scroll was having problem maintaining a signal and she was sure it had to do with the enemy jamming them, or something like that. The pods decompressed, sliding open slowly as a white smoke poured out of them. Neo teleported away and hid behind one of the paladins that had been destroyed by Ash. Neo peaked out, spotting the first one, Glynda Goodwitch. Glynda turned and paused, waiting for the other angel to step out. Neo couldn't see from her current position and walked out past the edge of the paladin for a better look, she could always teleport…

Neo stumbled, her parasol bouncing away from her as she landed on her chest. She quickly found her knees and pointed towards the angel, her hand struggling to maintain composure. And then Neo yelled. It took all of her strength and courage, but for the first time since before Roman had found her so long ago, since her mother had been killed in front of her... Neo spoke.

"YANG!"

* * *

...August 13th, Grimm Valley (Part 3)...


	31. Chapter 27 - Grimm Valley (Part 3)

Blake leapt to her feet, she shoved her chair away and stood in shock for a moment as she looked down at Coco.

"Coco…" Blake said, her mind racing.

"I heard it." Coco replied. Blake raced out into the hall.

"Who has eyes on Yang!? Who was that!? Whose voice was that!? Anyone? Come in!" Blake shouted. She rushed to her room, slamming into the door and throwing on her trench coat. Coco moved to the end of the hallway, blocking Blake's exit as she rummaged through her room quickly for Gambol Shroud. She stepped out into the hall and ran towards the steps, slowing as she approached. "Coco, move. Now."

"I can't let you go out there!" Coco told her. Blake tried to shove past her but Coco stood her ground and kept her from leaving.

"Dammit Coco, why not!?" Blake demanded.

"We can't be completely sure they said Yang." Coco stated.

"It sounded like they yelled Yang!"

"What if it's a trap?!"

"So be it!" Blake shoved at Coco again, Coco still refused to move.

"What if it is Yang?! What if she's an angel? Are you going to kill her?" Blake looked at Coco who was panicking. Blake understood what was going on unconsciously for Coco. She felt deep down that she deserved to have Velvet back if Blake had the chance of getting Yang back.

"I'm going to turn her back. You'd do the same for Velvet." Coco gave her a shocked look and gritted her teeth, looking away and stepping out of the way.

"We don't even know if that's possible." Coco tried explaining. She looked at Blake, her face determined and confident. "Fine. Go. Take the all-terrain vehicle. You'll be able to take main roads most of the way, and then you'll be able to take in into the battle," Coco instructed her. Blake walked past and ran up the steps.

"Thanks Coco!" She called back. Coco inhaled deeply, letting it build up before screaming and throwing her glasses. She wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing and screaming silently.

"Velvet!" She fell to the floor and pounded her fist against it. "Velvet!" She screamed for a while before collapsing to the floor, exhausted. _Velvet… I… I will save you._ She slowly pulled herself up, feeling around for her glasses before finally finding them and putting them back on. The left eye had a crack running along the lens, but it didn't seem to be affecting her vision. She slowly stood and slumped back to the situation room alone. She sat and took a sip of her coffee, taking a deep breath and regaining composure, preparing for what might come next.

* * *

Neo froze as Yang turned to face her, her eyes that same dark green color that the rest of the angels' eyes had been. Neo shook her head in disbelief, planting her feet as she stood and twirling her parasol behind her. It would have to come to this. She would have to take Yang down so that they could bring her in and make her normal again. Neo was determined that no one was going to stop her and was relieved as Ash and Aku stopped beside her.

"Is that Yang!?" Ashley yelled. "I can't believe it! It's you! You are one of the best-" Yang drew her arm back, thrusting forward, and firing a Dust blast from a new Ember Celica that Rose Petals had made her. They were plain and steel colored. Aku stood, taking the brunt of the blast in order to protect Ash. She leapt off and connected her tonfas together, standing beside Neo. "What's the plan?" Neo looked at her and Ash looked at her confused for a moment before it dawned on her. "Oh right." The two of them stared down Yang and Glynda for a long, almost endless moment, before making their move.

They both took off running towards the women, Neo blocking debris and pink shards that Glynda threw at them. She leapt into the air, Yang's fist crashing through her clone. Ashley batted Yang's arms away with her tonfas before bringing them up and nailing her in the chin. Neo appeared behind Glynda and pulled her to the ground, swinging for Glynda's head. Glynda blocked the blow with her switch and tossed Neo away with her telekinesis. Neo tumbled to a stop, attempting to stand. She was abruptly thrown back as Ash slid through her feet, Yang had punched her in the gut and sent her flying. Neo helped Ash up as she stood a prepared to make a second attack.

"You okay?" Ash asked Neo. Neo nodded, she couldn't give up on Yang because Yang hadn't given up on her! Yang was the only one who had been there when Neo was left all alone again, and if she had to, she'd be the only one there for Yang now. Yang sprinted for them, Neo bracing herself for impact and preparing to teleport. Ashley tried to divert Yang's punches, but Yang fired the tonfas out of Ash's hands and sent her sprawling away. Yang sucker punched Neo, and Neo teleported away, catching Ash and sliding to a stop. Ashley whistled and Aku climbed up out of the valley, running past Yang and Glynda and sliding to a stop in front of Ash. Ashley climbed up him quickly and pulled Neo up, riding towards the angels. Ash glowed with a bright white color, surrounding both her and Aku as they barreled for Yang. Aku swung for Yang, but she leapt into the air and slammed his paw to the earth with her gauntlets. Ash and Neo leapt off, Neo matching Yang move for move. She had fought and trained with Yang more than anyone else, there was no way that Yang could beat her.

Glynda threw Aku back and Ash dodged back and forth as Glynda followed up with her crystal attack, the pikes landing on both sides of Ash. She came to a stop near Aku and batted the last few crystals away using her tonfas. Neo looked at Yang with the same smug grin as usual, watching as Yang's rage boiled over slowly. Neo yanked her arm down, kneeing her in the jaw and pulling her completely down, leaping over her and knocking her feet out from under her as she tried standing. A tree swatted Neo away and she rolled into the woods a ways. Yang wouldn't be an issue to take down. Glynda however, was going to cause them problems. Neo glanced up as a bird called out high above the fight. They needed to finish this quickly.

* * *

Rowan swung his hook, catching Ruby with it this time and pulling her in. His fire blade sliced through her sleeve and she somehow managed to maneuver away, only losing a bit of fabric on her left arm, and coming away with a decent burn. She grabbed her arm as she teleported into the air, turning back towards Rowan. She fired behind her several times, screaming towards him and he blocked her attack with his sword, taking her to the ground and guiding her away. She slid back, finding herself to be out of breath and holding her arm. Rowan landed and slowly walked over to Ruby. He laughed as she slowly backed away, walking past Ivory.

"I knew that there had to be a catch," Rowan told her as he followed her step for step. Panic was setting in as Ruby's eyes had dulled, and her vision blurred. She had gone too far this time, and there was no one around to help her out. The best she could do at this point would be to struggle to stay conscious, and hope and pray that she could stay on the defensive until someone came along to help. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted that either, looking at the crazed Faunus in front of her that had bloodlust consuming his soul. Ruby let out a yip as she tripped over a log behind her, falling onto her side and losing her grip on Crescent Rose. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she fell onto her hands and knees and tried to move to her weapon.

Rowan kicked her in the chest, shooting a renewed sensation of pain through her body and she slumped to the ground, her mind struggling to keep from shutting down. She felt his hook break through the back of her dress and he held her above him.

"Rowan," Ivory said. He ignored her and shook Ruby violently above him to get his point across.

"How does it feel? Do you feel like you did the right thing Ruby Rose? Do you feel like you can somehow be at peace with the outcome of this battle, just because you did it all for Weiss?" He asked her as he chuckled. "You never once thought about yourself while fighting me, did you? All that you could think was 'Poor Weiss. They must be controlling her or using her or hurting her,' or whatever nonsense you had come up with in your head. Pathetic that you would care about Weiss more than yourself, sad really. Where did it get you?" He slowly lowered her, shoving her to the ground. She felt dizzy, her eyes shutting slowly. _This is it, isn't it?_

"Weiss. If Weiss dies, then what do I have to live for?" Rowan kicked her in the side again as Ivory found her feet.

"Love and friendship. Really pathetic and just complete bullshit if you really think about it," Rowan said as he spat on her. "Think about how that sounds? You'd rather be dead if she was dead? Why?!" Ivory looked down at Ruby, curious for her answer.

"Have you ever lost anyone? Do you remember that feeling? That feeling that you were more alone than you had ever been, because the one person who made you feel like you belonged wasn't there anymore to help you carry on and to tell you that everything would be okay. I wouldn't die literally if Weiss died, but we're nothing without each other. I complete her, I opened her eyes and made her see that the world isn't just black and white. Sometimes it's red, and sometimes it's yellow." Ruby laid back and smirked. "And she helped me stay on track when I acted too much like a child. You've never had anyone that you loved that much?" Ivory thought about their parents and looked at Rowan who caught her gaze. They knew what each other was thinking without speaking and he turned away, moving to on top of Ruby, holding his hook high above his head.

"I've never felt that," he told her coldly. Something at that moment cracked and shattered inside of Ivory and she reached back into her quiver, pulling out an ice Dust coated arrow as she slowly approached her brother with it behind her back. Ivory wretched as she reached her brother and he looked up at her from Ruby. "What's wrong with you?"

"Never?! Not even with mother and father!?" She screamed at him. He looked at her, hook still held above him. He barred his teeth and turned back to Ruby.

"Never." He swung down at Ruby who had passed out and Ivory's wing blocked the blow, she tossed her body over his and plunged the arrow deep into his back. She rolled off of him on the other side and he reached back, arching his back as he tried to reach the arrow, but was unable to. The tip exploded and his fire went out, his eyes wide and shaking as he looked at her. "She… Sh… She needs to die…" He pulled his arm back up, it wobbled back and forth as struggled to grip the hook. He dropped it and it landed on the ground beside Ruby as he fell onto his face on top of Ruby. Ivory held her hands to her mouth as she looked at the two of them lying there and fell to her knees, the realization of what she had done swept over her.

She moved to the two of them and pulled her brother off, forming her axe and holding it above her head. She could do it now, she could kill Ruby and secure their victory. Ivory felt her weapon grow heavier and heavier above her. _I opened her eyes and made her see that the world isn't just black and white. Sometimes it's red, and sometimes it's yellow._ Ivory was filled with terror as Weiss's words from their visit to Ruby's grave rang out in her head. _That's why I loved her so much! She made me feel wanted for the first time in my life._ Ivory dropped her axe, catching her breath as she fell back onto her butt, sitting there for a moment and thinking everything over. She knew that Ruby was right, they were going to have to turn on Weiss. Ivory wasn't sure that she could bring herself to do it. This was the least that Ivory would do for Weiss, but it might be the last thing she'd be able to do for her. Ivory slowly wrapped Rowan's chain around her and slung her bow over her arm as she scooped Rowan up in her arms and flew back towards the airship.

"Ivory, is Rowan okay," Weiss asked over the comms. Ivory looked at her brother. His skin was charred and the majority of his clothes had been singed off during the battle. His chest rose slightly as he inhaled before compressing again.

"He'll be fine, he just… pushed himself too hard." Ivory landed in the airship and laid Rowan down in the back as she turned back towards the battlefield. "No need to trouble yourself Weiss, this battle will be over in a few moments." Weiss nodded at Ivory and before Ivory could take off, Weiss grabbed her by the arm. Ivory looked down at Weiss's hand and then back at Weiss who smiled softly.

"Ivory, you called me Weiss." Ivory thought about it for a moment before replying with a thoughtful smile herself.

"I guess I did," Ivory replied.

"Thank you." Ivory blushed as she pulled her arm gently away.

"For… for what?" Weiss turned away, flushing as she sat down.

"Out of everyone in the cabinet, you don't treat me as though I'm untouchable and sacred. You treat me like a human, as though the two of us could have a real conversation together. Thank you." Images flashed through Ivory's mind of her stopping Rowan from killing Ruby.

"It's my pleasure… Weiss."

* * *

Joseph walked back towards the battle, a renewed determination as he wiped Reese's blood across his armor. She was wrong, strength was true power, and he was going to prove it if it was the last thing that he did. Pyrrha snapped Octavia's sword in half using her semblance and Joseph charged once more into the fray, slamming into Pyrrha who crashed into the valley wall and quickly moved back to her feet, throwing her shield at Joseph. He activated his air Dust and the shield hit an invisible barrier, returning to Pyrrha as she realized that it was no use. She charged at him, swinging her shield which he blocked with his right forearm. She twirled off of him, rebounding and slashing at his with her spear. He threw up his left forearm, blocking it but didn't anticipate her shield as it greeted his face. He stumbled back, grabbing his nose.

"Sorry!" She told him as she clubbed him in the side of the head with her spear. She formed it into its rifle form and opened fire. He flinched and covered his face for a moment, realizing that he wasn't being hit and opening his eyes. Ivory stood between the two of them and she felt something hammering against her wings.

"Who the hell are these people? Jade always made it sound like there people were inferior. That don't seem inferior to me!" Joseph told her. Ivory grunted with each hit, doing her best to hold her wings up.

"My thoughts exactly!" Ivory replied. Joseph smirked as his cloak lit up with gravity Dust.

"Any luck with Ruby?" He asked her. She hesitated for a moment before removing her bow.

"She was too much for Rowan to handle-" Joseph grabbed her and forced her to face him.

"She killed your brother?!" Ivory shook her head.

"No, she knocked him unconscious and let him go." She opened her wings and fired a gravity arrow at Pyrrha throwing her back. Joseph's fist met Nora's hammer as she swung down at him, the shockwave crashing through her weapon and throwing her back into Ren.

"Damn, these people really are crazy. Who let's an enemy live in the middle of a war zone like this?" Ivory looked over her shoulder at him as she fired at Pyrrha again. The arrow glanced off of her shield this time and Ivory formed her axe, preparing to attack.

"My thoughts exactly," she replied. Her staff clashed against Pyrrha's shield and Pyrrha used her polarity to manipulate the staff as she came in from underneath with her spear. Ivory's left wing wrapped past her and swatted the spear away, leaving Pyrrha shocked for a moment, double taking at her empty hand. Now Ivory swept Pyrrha's feet out from under her and brought her axe down, aiming for her chest. Pyrrha managed to block it with her shield. Nora came running in and Ivory caught her out of the corner of her eye. She threw her wing in the way to block the attack but it was too strong and Ivory was thrown away from Pyrrha, stopping her momentum with the flap of her wings. Ivory flew past them overhead as Joseph turned and greeted Ren with a thrashing using ice Dust. He had frozen both of Ren's hands to his guns and managed a clean hit, sending Ren leaping back. "Joseph, we might as well retreat and count our losses, we've lost too many military members, our ranks are spread too thin now and these men don't have aura like we do."

"Not yet! Where are our Fallen Angels? Jade always talks about how amazing there are, but I haven't seen too much of them today."

"Nolan is without a weapon and I think the quiet one killed Mercury," Ivory replied. She flew back over their original camp and doubled back for Joseph. "I found the other two."

"Where?!" He asked her.

"They have their hands full with a couple of huntresses back on top of our ridge," Ivory instructed him. She fired at the ground below, her fire arrow exploded near Nora, throwing her away from Joseph.

"We'll both fall back to the ridge! Once the angels fall, I think it's safe to say we can leave, but let's send as many of these bastards to hell as we can in the process."

* * *

Neo and Ash retreated back into the woods away from the valley, giving them a moment to regroup and come up with a strategy for taking out Glynda.

"If anyone can get over here to help, Ruby is down! She's unconscious!" May yelled over the comm. Neo hesitated for a moment. She should get over there and make sure that Ruby was okay, but she couldn't leave Yang, Yang was her number one priority. Aku loomed behind them, peering out and making sure that they were safe.

"Team Sun?!" Coco called out. "Can any of you get over there?!"

"We could try Coco, but none of us are all that great medical wise. What about JNPR?" Fox replied, sounding as though they were in the middle of a struggle.

"We can get there!" Pyrrha replied. "Watch for the ram Faunus and Ivory Team Sun! They're heading back up the ridge in your direction, I think that they're retreating." Coco clicked loudly on her keyboard.

"Keep up the good work! Just a little while longer and I think we will have made our point!" Neo waved her arms, grabbing Ash and snatching her scroll away. She quickly tapped something out and handed it back.

"Neo says that we need Pyrrha over here. Some woman named Glynda is here?" Ash read questioning it. "Glynda? That's her name?" Neo nodded. "Never heard of her before."

"Pyrrha?" Coco came over the radio. Neo grabbed Ash and teleported as Glynda had thrown one of the angel's pods at the two of them. It smashed through her clone and she rested for a moment, she had taken them to the other side of the woods behind Glynda and Yang.

"Nora and Ren are still heading for Ruby. I'm heading back now." She called out. She stopped as she passed the paladin, pulling it out of the ground and leaping onto it, riding it back towards the Rose Petal camp. "Team Sun?"

"Don't worry about us!" Neptune shouted in a panic in reply. "We'll be fine for a while. Go take care of Glynda!" Glynda had found them again and Neo tackled Ashley again, teleporting out of the woods and back behind Aku, where he had been waiting. Neo stood and prepared to mount Aku with Ash, but fell over, dropping her parasol. Ash looked down at her and leapt off to help her up. Neo waved her off and shook her head, pointing at Glynda. Ashley nodded in understanding and mounted Aku once more, riding him into the small clearing to help in the battle. Neo rolled over, laying on her back and staring up at the sky. Her body hurt all over, and she struggled to move.

She had pushed it too hard, and her body was rejecting the fact that she was trying to teleport as much as she was. She looked up as she noted Yang's steel plated gauntlet hanging above her head, just inches away from her. Her eyes pled, but she knew that Yang wasn't in there. They had explained it to her before, that the angels were to be treated as an enemy that didn't plan on stopping until their target was dead, but Neo could have never brought herself to kill Yang. Yang reached back and Neo curled up, gathering enough strength to cover her face as Yang swung down on her. Neo watched Blake split the gap at the last moment and block Yang's blow with the blunt side of her sheath blade. Blake looked back at Neo, shoving Yang back as Neo rolled to her side, making another attempt to stand.

"Hey Neo. Take a moment if you need it, I'll handle her for a few moments," Blake told her as she stood between them, her trench coat tails lightly being tossed by the breeze that had stirred up. Blake gritted her teeth, sprinting at Yang and clashing with her. Yang met every swipe of Blake's blades with her new gauntlets, blocking swing after swing. She found an opening and pounded her fists into Blake's chest, the blows crashing through an ice clone as Blake sliced at Yang, catching her and forcing her to put distance between the two of them. "Yang, you have to wake up! They've done something to you! We need you to come back!" Blake was suddenly hit with the overwhelming emotion that followed the gravity of the situation. Her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm not coming back Blake. You need to join us. Weiss is going to protect all of Remnant. You could even say that I've Schneen the light," she told Blake.

"Dammit Yang, that's your worst pun yet!" Blake yelled at her. She clinched her fist, screaming at Yang now with all that she had. "I need you to come back Yang! Weiss isn't right! Someone is controlling her, and you, and everyone else who works under the Rose Petal name! I don't want to hurt you Yang, but no matter what I have to do, I'm bringing you back!" Yang gave a disheveled grin as she looked up at Blake.

"I guess we'll just have to see Xiao Long I can last," Yang told her. Blake trembled and as she prepared to attack. She had no doubt that Yang was still in there, she just wasn't sure how to get her out. Neo tugged on Blake's arm and stood beside her, parasol closed and extended behind her.

"Thanks Neo," Blake told her. Neo looked back at Yang and nodded. Blake ran for Yang and planned her attack, dashing past and leaving behind a clone that Yang smashed through. It dissipated and Neo appeared where it had been, hooking her gauntlet and holding it still as Blake sliced at it, hoping to slice through. Yang triggered her weapon, smashing Neo's clone and turning to greet Neo with another shot to the chest. Neo flew through the air, smashing into a tree and falling to the ground. She was dazed, she hadn't waited until she was one hundred percent before she rejoined the battle. Yang had never been that good before.

"You won't be able to hit me today, Neo far," Yang exclaimed as she reached up, blocking Blake's blade. _That one was awful, did the reader even get it?_ Blake slashed wildly, allowing Yang to smash through multiple clones before opening fire with her gun, riddling Yang and reducing her aura as she lost her footing and crashed through the forest. Blake ran quickly to Neo and helped her up.

"I might need a hand with Yang! Can anyone back us up?" Blake called out.

"Ren's checking out Ruby now, and May and I are standing guard," Nora explained on the radio.

"Busy with Glynda! Sorry!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Same here!" Ashley replied.

"Team Sun?" Coco called out.

* * *

"Yeah, no." Scarlet replied. "We're doing okay but bloody hell they're good!" He blocked Ivory's axe with his cutlass as Sage stepped in and swung at her. Joseph sprinted in quickly, catching the sword and holding it, allowing Ivory to hit him with a lightning arrow and drop him to the ground. Neptune fired at the two of them, only to have his shots blocked by Ivory's wings wrapping around the two of them.

"We have to get in close, or they're just gonna keep doing that!" Fox exclaimed. Ivory opened her wings and flew into the air as Joseph ran for Scarlet. He slammed into him, grabbing him and tossing him back into the valley. He cracked his knuckles as the gravity arrow landed in the middle of them. Joseph braced himself and the other two were tossed away.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. We're pretty capable of changing things up," Joseph stated as he headed for the woods, Ivory flying overhead.

"Glynda's fighting the red head and Ashley," Ivory stated.

"I guess we'll help here if we can. Otherwise I'm thinking that now would be a good time to consider leaving," Joseph told her.

"What about the angels?" She asked. Joseph chuckled as he charged towards Aku.

"Expendable!" He shouted. He crashed into Aku, causing the Ursa to tumble away with Ashley on top. She dropped off, diving and avoiding him landing on top of her, and leaping to her feet as he came to a stop a few feet away. "Ashley! Your name is Ashley, right? Long time no see." She connected her tonfas together and they both slowly moved in a circle, clockwise away from each other, maintaining their distance.

"Joseph! So glad that you found me so that I could kick your ass a second time!" She told him with a smile. He scoffed.

"We'll see about that," he told her. He ran towards her and she slid out of his reach, blasting him with her flamethrower as he tore past her, neither of them affecting the other. Aku rushed over, rolling over Ashley to protect her and tossing Joseph into the air. Ivory caught his arm, diving as she struggled to grip him.

"That wasn't my best idea," she grunted as she set him gently onto the ground. He saluted her before she took back off to assist from above, but when he faced forward again to continue on his way, he was greeted in the teeth with Pyrrha's shield. His ears rang and he landed on his back, pain shooting up his spine. He arched and curled up on the ground, his hand going immediately for the vial and attempting to pry it open. Ivory landed next to him to check on him, spreading her wings out quickly and blocking another toss of the shield. She grabbed his hand. "Not yet. Save it."

"Right," he agreed looking at the vial. He watched as she took off towards Pyrrha and cocked his head. She was trying harder than usual and wondered what had suddenly drove her to another level. Sure, she was a good fighter normally, but it seemed as though whatever had been on her mind had been relieved and she had better clarity than ever. Before he could finish his thought, one of the paladins turned and blasted at him, causing him to dive for cover and crawl behind the nearest tree. He looked over and noted Ivory busy with Pyrrha. He shook his head. There was no way that the redhead was able to carry on a fight and manipulate that robot at the same time. He leapt to his feet and dashed out, his cloak lit with water and lightning Dust. He slammed his fist as he slid through its legs, water pouring out. He twisted around, blasting the water and watching the lightning surge through the mech.

It turned towards him and he ran from it as it chased him. He was impressed. So she _was_ controlling it.

"Ivory!" Joseph called out. Ivory clapped her wings together, the force threw Pyrrha back and knocked down the trees in the immediate area.

"I can take her!" Ivory exclaimed. Joseph dove onto the ground, the paladin running well past him before stopping to track him down again.

'I'm sure you can, but I suggest we leave now! I'm worried about what she might do to the ship!" He ran back for Ivory and she grabbed him, flapping hard to get off the ground, but having an easier time once they had left the earth.

"Pyrrha!" Ash shouted. She batted Glynda around several times before the woman hit the ground. "Just below the tree line there!" Pyrrha looked towards where she had been directed and took off running.

"I can't get there in time!" She exclaimed.

"Can you take it down from here?" Ash asked.

"What is it?" Coco asked, trying to reposition her drones and follow along.

"Weiss's airship." Coco smiled as she turned away from her computer, moving to the file room. Coco chuckled.

"That'll send a message. Take it down if you can Pyrrha!" Coco declared. Pyrrha gave chase for a moment as the ship began to take off, lifting her hand and pulling, as though she was grabbing an invisible item from the air. She strained as the airship buckled for a moment, seeming as though it was going to straighten back out. Ivory and Joseph stepped inside as it leveled again and they looked back at the fight below.

"We need to get out of here now!" Ivory demanded of the pilot.

"Ivory!" Joseph yelled. She turned her attention back to Pyrrha who had sprinted quickly after them through a clearing and pulled on the ship. It began to nose dive, tossing Weiss out who was preparing to attack Pyrrha from the air ship. Ivory leapt out, diving after Weiss and wrapping her wings around her as she reached her, their bodies protected as they hit the earth. Ivory grunted, giving a loud yelp as she maintained her shield, the ship crashing down beside them.

'Ivory!" Weiss said, her face drowning in concern as Ivory continued to struggle. "Ivory are you okay?" Ivory smiled as she grunted and strained.

"As long as you're okay Weiss," Ivory told her. Ivory gave a weak smile and Weiss chuckled.

"You've done a fine job," Weiss told her. Ivory threw her wings open, throwing the debris away and allowing Weiss to peer out. "Will they come after us?" Ivory shook her head.

"No, I don't think so, I think they're were just trying to prove something," Ivory replied.

"Prove what?" Ivory helped Weiss to her feet as they walked for the wreckage looking for Joseph and Rowan.

"That they shouldn't be taken lightly," Ivory told her.

* * *

"She's waking up!" Ren shouted. Ruby sat up, gasping for air as she looked around frantically, confused and terrified. "Calm down Ruby, it's us!"

"Where's Rowan and Ivory?! Rowan was… on top of me and was going to shove that hook through me! Who saved me?" She asked. The three of them looked at each other and they all shrugged. Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose from off of the ground beside her, extending it and using the staff to pull herself up.

"Ruby. You need to take it easy," Ren tried to convince her. She shrugged him off and stumbled towards the edge of the cliff. She peered into the empty valley, a few of the Rose Petals soldiers still lingering. Ruby shook her head, one of the men at the bottom caught her eye. She raced down and knocked him onto the ground, training her gun on him. He was holding Reese's board and shaking in fear.

"Where did you get that?!" She demanded. He handed it out to her and pointed to the far end of the valley where a single body laid. Ruby grabbed it slowly and used her semblance to move quickly to the spot, coming out of her corkscrew several feet short and stopping at the body. A pool of blood surrounded the body and Ruby knelt in the snow, her hand trembling as she dropped the board and her gun. She pulled back the hood, the hair color was undeniable and Ruby's heart broke. She inhaled sharply and screamed at the top of her lungs, the sounds shattering the silence and filling every corner of the valley. "Reese!" Ren and Nora leapt down into the valley with May who opted to slide down, following just on their heels.

"No…" Nora gasped covering her mouth and burying her face in Ren's shoulder.

"Why?!" Ruby shouted. She pulled Reese into her arms. She had been Ruby's best friend over the past week and a half, and Ruby had brought Reese back to her former self after Rose Petals had broken her. She remembered the smile on Reese's face as she had beaten her in the training room. _Thanks Ruby! You were amazing yourself!_ Ruby clung to Reese's body, rocking her back and forth in her arms. Ruby sobbed as she looked down at Reese's face and then up at her teammates. "Why?! This wasn't supposed to happen! She was happy again!"

"Coco. We need the airship brought-"

"I heard." There was a long moment of silence with the exception of Ruby's anguish. "Ruby, I'm sorry." Ruby lifted Reese and walked to Ren, placing her in his arms. She looked at the ground as she turned away, picking up her weapon and Reese's board.

"I want this to stop!" Ruby's voice rang out strong. "All of it. This war. Feeling like my fiancé is the villain. Everything! We need to fix this and I think it's time that you let me get a hold of Weiss and talk to her!" Coco cleared her throat.

"I have to wait until Blake returns and then…"

"No!" Her teammates looked at her, bewildered but understanding. "I will be contacting Weiss tomorrow, and you and Blake are going to let me." Coco clicked on her laptop and the airship came over the ridge, landing near them and allowing them to board. "I'm going to help them clean up here!"

"Ruby, the battle's over. You were out for a while! Get back here so I can debrief you and we can further discuss your request to contact Weiss!" Coco instructed her. Ruby climbed onto the ship, but was set in the fact that tomorrow she **would** talk to Weiss.

Blake spun Neo around on the end of her gun, pulling her as she leapt into the air and launched off, her feet in front of her as she made a direct line for Yang. Yang cocked back both of her fists, thrusting them forward and slamming through Neo's clone. Neo reappeared and landed face first a few feet from Yang. She couldn't keep going on like this, Yang would certainly kill her if she did. Pyrrha stopped next to Blake, charging in with her. She deflected a few shots with her shield, which Yang knocked out of her hands. Yang caught her spear as well, throwing her back as Blake stepped in, her blades dancing off of Yang's gauntlets again. Yang fired at Blake, hitting her on the fifth try and sending her reeling.

Pyrrha dragged Yang forward by her gauntlets, batting Yang in the face with her shield as they reached each other. Yang stumbled back, shaking her head and reaching into her pockets, reloading her gauntlets. Pyrrha pulled her towards herself again and tried the same strategy but Yang head butted the shield as it came in, completely unphased. She fired two shots that flew past Pyrrha and Pyrrha nailed her in the knee with her spear, dropping Yang to the ground. She knocked Yang onto her back with her shield, and Yang lay there for a long moment.

"I'm sorry! Is she okay?" Pyrrha asked. Blake slowly made her way over to Yang, only for Yang to slam her fist into Blake's leg, cracking something. Blake cried out and hit the ground as Yang positioned herself over her wife.

"Sorry I had to Blake your leg!" Yang declared, her eyes red. Blake cringed, waiting for the hit. _Her puns are just getting worse!_ She opened her eyes, Pyrrha was holding her in place. Blake slid out from under her, grabbing her leg as a sharp pain shot down it. She hoped that her aura would be able to heal it, and she looked around for Neo, hoping that she could teleport them away while Pyrrha tried to take Yang down.

"Yang! Please! Whatever they told you isn't true!" Pyrrha tried to calm her down. Yang's hair flared, bursting into her semblance flames and she resisted Pyrrha's pull on her, moving slowly towards Blake. Pyrrha maintained her grip and ran for Yang, trying another melee assault, but Yang turned and swung, her fist smashing through Pyrrha's shield and slamming into the girl's chest. She hit the ground, blood splattering as she coughed. Yang turned away from Pyrrha, pulling the shield off of her gauntlet and tossing it away as she returned her attention to Blake. She marched towards Blake, to kill was her intent.

"Any last words?" Yang asked.

"Don't do this Yang! I love you!" Blake could see she wasn't there though. She could see that Yang's eyes were dead, and she prepared for the impact. Yang wound up, throwing her fist forward, firing off a large explosive shot from her gauntlet as she swung. Neo teleported in the way, the shot slamming against her parasol and she shattered, teleporting herself onto Yang's shoulders and wrapping her legs tight around Yang's neck. Blake forced herself to stand, assessing the situation and determining the best way that she could help Neo. Yang reached up, trying to pry Neo off, but Pyrrha was still conscious and struggled to keep Yang's arms down.

"Quick Blake!" Pyrrha called out. Blake limped over to Yang, watching her wife desperately pull against Pyrrha's power to free herself. Yang gasped, her face beginning to turn a slight purple. She fought through the polarity, grabbing Neo's legs.

"I love you Yang. And I'm sorry." Blake spun Gambol Shroud around, slamming the hilt into Yang's stomach and knocking the air out of her. She passed out and fell to the ground, unconscious. Neo rolled off, lying beside Yang, making an attempt to catch her breath. Blake shook her head, she dragged her leg across the ground and helped Pyrrha stand, throwing her arm over Pyrrha as they moved to Neo. "Neo…" Neo gave them a thumbs up before letting her arm flop to the ground, shaking her head.

"Blake, for the love of The Maidens, please tell me that you're alive," Coco asked. Blake nodded despite the fact that Coco wouldn't be able to see her doing so.

"If you can call it that," Blake said trying to chuckle, but laughing caused her pain and she cringed, gasping as Pyrrha helped her sit. "Yeah, I'm alive. So is Neo and Pyrrha." Ash and Aku jumped out from the trees and came to a stop near Neo, Ashley standing on her Ursa's shoulders.

"Aku and I are alive as well, but Glynda got away as we were fighting her," Ashley explained. Blake looked at Yang, wondering what the next day would hold when they finally got her back to the bunker. Even telling Yang that she loved her didn't seem to affect her decision to attack, and they didn't have the slightest idea what the person who turned her had done. Was it mind control? Was it a mind wipe? Chemical? It was bound to be a struggle, but Blake was willing to find out what was going on, and the fact that it was Yang made it that much better. She slid over to Yang and held Yang's hand to her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yang's alive!" Blake choked out, laughing and crying at the same time. "Yang's alive Coco! I knew that Weiss wouldn't let them kill her!" Blake laughed and dropped Yang's hand as she was helped to her feet again. "Don't worry Coco. I know without a doubt now that Velvet is still out there. She has to be alive." Coco sighed and chuckled.

"It would be nice, wouldn't it?" Coco asked. She slowly began putting files away as they finished up.

"We need to be extracted," Pyrrha told Coco.

"Neo can't teleport there and fly you out?" She asked. All three of them looked at Neo who was still lying on the ground. She crawled over to Yang and rested her head on her chest.

"She needs a break. Ruby's silver eyes might have pushed her a little too hard," Blake explained. "If you can just remotely land the second airship over here, we can take it from there. Has everyone else been extracted?"

"Mmhmm. Everyone is accounted for," Coco informed her. Blake hobbled out of the way of the landing ship with Ash and Pyrrha.

"Good, so everyone survived then!" Blake exclaimed. Coco cleared her throat and there was radio silence for a long moment.

"I said that everyone was accounted for. I never said that everyone made it," Coco told her, a strain in her voice.

"Who? Who died?" Blake asked.

"Reese."

"Oh no." Pyrrha replied as she put her hand over her mouth. Blake's mouth twisted into an over exaggerated frown as she inhaled hard and held the breath in her chest. She breathed out slowly, hoping to avoid crying, but a tear had already slipped from her eye.

"Dammit." Neo, Pyrrha, and Ash loaded Yang onto the ship and made sure that they strapped her into the emergency stretcher as Blake climbed in herself, taking a seat beside Yang. "How's Ruby taking it?" Coco didn't say anything, and Blake wondered if they had lost signal. "Coco."

"She's demanding we let her talk to Weiss." Coco told her. "I didn't tell her yes, but I'm still not sure that it's the best idea." Blake sighed.

"At this point, I don't think she's going to give us a choice."

* * *

It would seem that each team took some form of loss but the odds seem to be changing in Nightshade's favor. Next week Nightshade tries their hand at fixing Yang, Jade makes sure that the Petals are made aware of her dissatisfaction, and Ruby finally contacts Weiss in Chapter 28 - Changes!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	32. Chapter 28 - Changes

"I don't know if I like this idea the more that I think about it," Blake told Ruby. Ruby followed her down the hall and entered into her room, flopping down onto the couch and stretching.

"We don't have a better idea though," Ruby explained to her as Blake gingerly sat, her leg still hurting from 2 days before.

"True, but what makes you think that having you go in there is going to help? I've been in there 3 times in the last 24 hours and nothing has changed. Whatever this thing is that they used to make them the angels is completely self-sustaining, or at least it seems that way. It hasn't worn off at all, so I don't think that distance or prolonged exposure to something have anything to do with it. If it's a drug of some sort, I would think that they would be forced to have to inject them every so often to keep them obedient, but I don't think that's it either," Blake told her. She rested her forehead on her hand and shook her head. "I just don't know what else would work."

"I'm telling you Blake, I'm her sister, and I know Yang better than anyone else!" Ruby leapt to her feet and headed for the door. "Just let me in there for a little bit?" Blake waved her out the door and nodded.

"For a short while, but if things start to get hairy in there, we're going to send Neo in to get you out of there before Yang can hurt you." Blake called out. Ruby had already headed out into the hall and met Neo in the kitchen, the two of them were alone.

"Neo, I need a favor," Ruby told her. Neo put down her scroll and looked Ruby in the eyes, tilting her head and wondering what Ruby had to say. "When you take me into your panic room in a few minutes, no matter what, I don't want you to pull me out of there, got it?" Neo's eyes were wide and she shook her head, pushing her seat back and standing, preparing to go inform Blake of Ruby's plan. Ruby stopped Neo by grabbing her arm and Neo looked at Ruby, frantically trying to free her arm, but it was no use. "Neo, please. For Yang." Neo stopped, her eyes understanding now as she gave Ruby a puzzled look. "Please, just _don't_ pull me out of there. I know that Yang will never hurt me. No matter what happens, leave me in."

"Ready to head in there?" Coco asked in the doorway behind Ruby. Neo looked up at Ruby whose eyes pleaded her for help and Neo nodded. Ruby mouthed a thank you before turning back around to face Coco.

"Sure thing!" Ruby exclaimed. "Coco, what happened to your glasses?" Ruby pointed at the lens as she came closer, noting the crack that had been caused when Coco had lost her temper.

"Nothing of consequence," Coco told her with a smirk. "I dropped them on accident the other day and they cracked, but it isn't interfering with the optics, so it's nothing to worry about. You didn't notice when I debriefed you?" Ruby thought back and shook her head.

"No, I only noticed just now." Ruby shrugged. "Oh well. I'm just glad that you and Blake agreed to let me contact Weiss later today." Coco smiled sheepishly and stepped back out into the hallway with Ruby.

"We wanted you to calm down before you called, so we figured that yesterday wouldn't be the best day. I have to warn you though Ruby, even when you do try and get ahold of her later, there's no guarantee that she'll believe it's really you, and it might make matters worse." Ruby gave Coco a stern look.

"I have to try," She told Coco. "For everyone here. If I can get through to her, we might be able to end this."

"Perhaps." Coco entered the situation room and sat down with Ruby standing behind her. "I'll never understand how you can be so optimistic all the time without fail. Amazing. But let's get things underway, shall we?" Coco looked at Neo who stood beside Ruby. She nodded. "Take her in." Neo teleported Ruby into the room, curtsied to Yang and gave Ruby one last look. Ruby nodded and Neo nodded slightly in acknowledgement, leaving her and Yang alone in the room together.

"Ruby! What a pleasant surprise! I'm guessing they sent you in here to try and break me too, right? Something about there being something wrong with me and that they need to fix it! What are they talking about?" Yang asked her sister as she stood and walked across the room to Ruby, standing directly in front of her. Ruby could see the dark green coloring in her eyes, and the liquid that coursed through her veins. "I want to let you in on a little secret, seeing as you're my sister." Yang moved to Ruby's ear and slammed her fist into Ruby's gut. Ruby doubled over, the pain discomforting, but not really enough to cause any permanent damage.

"Hey! Ruby, are you alright?!" Coco yelled over the intercom.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ruby rasped out. Yang walked away from Ruby, chuckling as she sat on the corner of the bed again.

"Here's the secret sis. I like this new power that Weiss has given me. I'm practically unstoppable and with Weiss leading her Fallen Angels and Rose Petals' army, Remnant will never be in danger again," Yang explained. The words didn't seem sincere, but sounded more like a prerecorded message. Ruby managed to stand up straight again and laughed.

"I don't believe that!" Ruby cried out. "Using fear to rule people is hardly worth the security promised!" Ruby walked over to her sister, getting directly in her face. "I know that you're still in there somewhere Yang." A sucker punch to Ruby's gut doubled her over and she stumbled away from the bed, gasping for air.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about Ruby. I am your sister. There's no one else here, just me. I feel like Weiss's way is better than following this little rebellion," Yang explained. She slowly crossed the room again to where Ruby was, holding her stomach. This hit stung a little more that the first, but Ruby could still manage. "Aren't we all entitled to our own opinion?"

"Yeah, I guess we are," Ruby replied. She stood up straight again, the sting lingering from the last hit as she brushed past Yang. "But you're not Yang, and you don't share her opinions." Yang's eyes wavered, hanging in the midst of green and red. She had heard enough of what Ruby had to say, and she was losing her patience more quickly than Ruby had anticipated. "So why don't you let me talk to Yang?" Yang ran across the room, her fist slamming into Ruby's stomach once more and knocking her onto the floor.

"Blake!" Coco called out into the hallway, but it came into the room over the PA. "Neo get her out of there!" There was silence as Ruby could hear Coco physically leave the room and Yang dragged Ruby up by her arm, shoving her against the wall, she grappled Ruby's jaw and squeezed, lowering her voice.

"You want to know the truth?" Yang asked. She laughed out loud, it was simple at first, but it grew and continued. She threw her head back continuing to laugh until her head snapped back down to look at Ruby. She placed her nose against Ruby's and Ruby watched as Yang's entire eye filled with the green coloring. "Your sister isn't here anymore. Not even a little bit. She's been a Fallen Angel for so long that her mind and soul were both consumed long ago. There is no Yang."

"Prove it!" Ruby spat. Yang's jaw unhinged slightly and she took a step back.

"With pleasure!" Yang's fist crashed into Ruby's stomach again, and as she began to drop, Yang lifted her back up, pinning her shoulder to the wall and laying into Ruby's jaw.

"Neo, we need in there now! Teleport in there and bring her out!" Blake demanded as she entered Coco's room. Neo shook her head vigorously, crossing her arms and facing away from Blake. "Neo, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I demand you either pull Ruby out or send me in now!" Neo shook in terror as she watched Ruby take hit after hit, groaning and squealing every so hits.

"How long can you keep this up Ruby?" Yang asked her as she smashed her fist into Ruby's face again. The back of Ruby's head glanced off of the concrete wall, bruising the back of her head. Blood poured out of her nose and the corners of her mouth as she grabbed Yang's arms, but Yang continued to lay into her. Hit after hit. Ruby remained unmoving and made no attempt to get away. Ruby's mind slipped into a different space, remembering the moments that they had spent together as children and the times they had shared in Team RWBY. She could hear Blake and Coco, their voices seemed muffled and far away.

"Get her out!"

"Neo! Please! Now!"

"Neo! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Blake hit Neo in the jaw, knocking her onto the floor. Coco moved quickly to them, trying to pull Blake off of her.

"Blake! This isn't helping!" Coco screamed at her.

"What happens next?" Yang asked. Her fist slammed into Ruby one more time, Ruby's aura breaking and shattering apart.

"Cl… cl… close…" Ruby breathed. Yang dragged her up the wall and placed her ear to Ruby's mouth.

"I'm sorry, what?" Yang asked. Ruby gasped and swallowed hard, inhaling and exhaling through her nose before inhaling deeply.

"Close your eyes… Don't you cry… Love's around you, in time… You'll fly…" Yang looked at Ruby and chuckled, preparing for one last punch.

"How sweet, but it's a bit too late," Yang said. She swung her fist and Ruby closed her eyes, hearing the punch meet its mark. The fighting in the room above had gone silent, their eyes glued to the screen no doubt. Ruby slowly opened her eyes, Yang's fist had put a dent in the wall beside her and she trembled, her eyes flickered between purple and green and she dropped Ruby to the floor, stumbling backwards. "Ruby…"

"Yang." Yang looked at her, looking at both of her hands and then back at her sister.

"Help." Yang's eyes went green again and she wretched, slamming herself against the wall and gripping her right arm, trying to disconnect it. She stopped all of a sudden and looked up at Ruby, laughing again hysterically. "Did you really think that your sister was here?! She's gone Ruby! She's dead! There's no more Yang!" Ruby found her feet, her body swaying back and forth and she took off running, reaching her sister and throwing her arms around her.

"Come out Yang! I'm here!" The angel laughed again.

"Don't you understand Ruby?! She's not…" She choked the words off as her eyes changed again and she fell limp in Ruby's arms. "Ruby, save me! Save me, I don't want to go back in there! I'm scared Ruby!" She shrieked. "It's dark Ruby! I don't know how to get…" Yang shoved Ruby away. "There is no escaping you damn fool. You belong to me now!" Ruby slowly backed away as the pulsing became more severe in Yang's veins until is stopped all together and they bulged, every vein in her body, dark green and on edge.

"Neo, let me in!" Blake demanded.

"Wait!" Yelled Coco. Blake shot her a look.

"Ruby's still in danger and things are getting worse!" Blake shouted at her.

"Just wait a moment!" Coco yelled. Ruby reached the wall and looked around, thinking what she would do next seeing as things weren't going in her favor.

"Yang!" Ruby called out. "Don't leave me! You've always been there to protect me, don't give up now!" Yang's body convulsed, her veins returning to normal again as her eyes became purple once more.

"Ruby!" Yang's body shook as she fell to the floor, her hands balling into fists. "Ruby, I can see it!"

"See what?" Ruby called out. Her eyes changed instantly and she moved across the room with incredible speed. Yang's face had changed. Her skin was pale white like Cinder, green markings running along her skin and her eyes completely green. Her tongue was a snakes, slithering out and hissing in Ruby's face.

"How you die!" Ruby felt a chill run through her body and a blade sliced through Yang's prosthetic arm, severing it from her body. It fell to the floor and she turned around, hissing at the assailant who blocked several attacks and shoved her against the wall opposite of Ruby. She couldn't get a good look at them, but they had long black hair and a sword that was taller than she was.

"Let go, of my daughter!" She yelled. Ruby gasped, her eyes wide as she stumbled over to them.

"Raven!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"You did a great job Ruby, but allow me to take it from here," Raven told her. Ruby stopped in her tracks and nodded, letting Raven handle Yang. Raven slammed Yang against the wall, looking her in the eyes for any indication of change. "Yang. I'm here. I heard that you were in danger. You can beat this thing, I believe in you Yang." Yang laughed, hissing as she swung at Raven and missing by several inches. Yang looked at her left arm and then back at her missing right before she looked at her mother.

"Get… Out!" Yang screamed. The green smoke took the form of a specter and attempting to take Ruby's body. Ruby dove out of the way and Raven opened a portal, the specter was sucked inside almost instantly and the room was left in complete silence as Yang looked at Raven and Ruby. Ruby threw her arms around Yang and hugged her, tears rolling down her face as she pulled away for a moment to look at Yang's face. Yang was dazed, but grateful as she embraced her sister with one arm.

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me!" Ruby exclaimed in between sobs. Yang rubbed her back as her sister buried her face in Yang's neck. "I love you Yang!"

"How did you know that that would work," Yang asked Ruby.

"How did I know that what would work?" Ruby asked.

"Any of it?" Yang asked. Ruby looked up at her sister, a serious look on her face.

"I didn't. I just remembered that you used to sing that song to me when I was scared when we were younger, so I knew that if you were still in there, you would hear it," Ruby told her. Tears streamed from Yang's eyes now and she pulled Ruby close.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, I couldn't control myself. It was like I was being held captive and every time that I tried to take back over or resist, the monster would over power me and put me back in my place, but when I saw that it was about to kill you, I came out of the dazed state and I began fighting back. It was much stronger than I could have handled on my own, but you gave me the strength I needed." Yang looked up past Ruby at the woman who slowly removed her mask. "Mom?" Raven held her mask in her hands in front of her and flipped her hair out of her face, nodding at Yang.

"Yang." Yang let go of Ruby and tried to find her feet, but passed out and fell to the floor. Neo teleported in with Blake and Blake scooped Yang up off of the floor, placing her gently on the bed and turning to Ruby with a stern look. Ruby chuckled sheepishly.

"It worked, so there's that," Ruby said, hoping that her success justified her actions.

"You could have died Ruby! That thing broke your aura!" Blake shouted at her. Everyone else in the room grew silent, watching them.

"I didn't! I knew what I was doing!" Ruby yelled back, but her voice lacked certainty and confidence. Blake shoved Ruby against the wall, crouching down in order to look her directly in the eyes.

"Why would you make Neo swear to leave you in here no matter what!? That just seems a bit suicidal! We need you Ruby, I can't have you making reckless decisions like that! It's not that I'm against every decision that isn't my idea, I'm just trying to look out for everyone here, and from everything that we've seen about these Angels so far would suggest that she wouldn't have hesitated to kill you!" A tear slipped from Ruby's eye and she nodded.

"I know!" Ruby sobbed. "I just wanted to save my sister!" Blake's face softened and she backed off from Ruby who had been reduced to a heap of emotion, sliding down the wall.

"Hey," Blake told her softly. Ruby wiped her eyes, standing back up and looking at her. They shared a long, deep look into each other's eyes. "I just didn't want to lose you too Ruby." Blake threw her arms around Ruby and lifted her, swinging her lightly around in a hug. "Thank you." Ruby enjoyed the embrace until Blake set her down and Neo grabbed them both and teleported out of the room with them. Another portal opened in the hall across from them and Raven stepped out, drawing the attention of people that passed by in the hall. "That's..?" Ruby nodded.

"Yep, your mother-in-law," Ruby told her. Blake walked to Raven and thrust out her hand, which Raven looked down at for a moment and then back at Blake, slightly puzzled.

"Hello Raven. I'm Blake." Blake said weakly.

"Oh, you must be the Faunus girl, correct? Yang's wife?" Raven asked smiling. Blake blushed slightly.

"That's me," Blake told her. "What are you doing here? How can we help you?" Raven looked down the hall both ways.

"Can we sit somewhere and talk?" Raven asked. Blake nodded and led Raven and Ruby to the kitchen, where they all three sat at the same table. Neo moved to the cabinets, looking for something to eat and Raven set her mask down on the table which Ruby picked up promptly and started examining it.

"So cool," Ruby said as she rotated it and peeked her head inside. "Woah!"

"How did you know that we would need you?" asked Blake as Neo brought them a plate of cookies and set it down in the middle of the table. Ruby's eyes grew wide as she set the mask back down in front of Raven and grabbed the plate, slowly pulling it towards herself in hopes that no one would notice.

"I didn't. Not entirely. Qrow hasn't contacted me a couple of days, so I started to wonder what was going on over here that had him so busy. It took me a few days to find your group but I was flying through the area when you were at Grimm Valley. I saw everything and decided that I would come here and talk to Qrow about my most recent discovery since things looked a bit chaotic. I had one last thing to take care of and it took me most of the morning to find your bunker but that's how I ended up here. Where is Qrow?" Raven asked.

"He left for Patch or Atlas or somewhere with Winter. He told us that he had a lead that he was going to look into and then he would be back, but that was almost a week ago now," Blake explained to Raven. Raven looked deep in thought, watching as Neo leaned across the entire length of the table, legs kicking in the air as she tried desperately to reach the cookies that Ruby was inhaling. Ruby smacked her hand as it came near and the clone shattered. Neo reached over Ruby's shoulder and stole a cookie, giving Ruby the cold shoulder as she walked back around the table and sat back down. She reached out for her milk to dunk her cookie, but discovered the glass sitting empty in front of Blake. Neo's mouth was agape and her shoulders slouched, arms dangling limp as she walked back to the fridge dejected, pouring herself another glass.

"How odd. I just don't understand why he wouldn't have been in touch for a week," Raven said. Ruby let out a giggle as she slid the empty plate back into the middle of the table.

"What's so funny?" Blake asked. Ruby snickered again as she covered her mouth.

"Maybe he and Winter are… You know…" Raven and Blake took a moment to think it over before blushing and exchanging awkward glances with each other. Blake stood up and Raven followed her to the doorway, turning back after she realized she had forgotten her mask. She glanced at Ruby who pointed at Neo. Neo wore it on her head, struggling to balance with it on.

"We're going to finish going through the accounts of the battle if you'd care to join us," Blake asked Raven. Raven nodded.

"I'll stay for a short while. I'd like to see Yang when she wakes up and apologize," she told Blake. She looked down the hall, staring out into the distance. "I always thought that the best way for me to show Yang that I loved her was for me to constantly search for Salem in order to keep her safe. After talking to Qrow last week I realize that maybe I went about this whole thing wrong. I want to… I need to let her know I was wrong. I just hope she will forgive me." Raven looked back into the kitchen again, trembling slightly as she looked at Ruby who was laughing and teasing Neo. _She's just like Summer._

* * *

"One!? That's really all we managed to take out?" Jade shouted as she slammed the door to the conference room. She was joined by Alice, Ivory, Rowan, and Joseph, sitting in that order from left to right on the opposite side of the table.

"Jade, why am I here?" Alice asked. "And why wasn't this addressed yesterday?" Jade leaned across the table, slamming Alice's scroll onto the table and out of her hands, forcing the woman to look her in the eyes. "Do you mind?"

"We are on the cusp of victory! I had meetings all day yesterday that I needed to attend and if you don't mind, we are only a few days from being able to bring Salem back to Remnant and having more power than any mortal could ever possibly dream of! However, for some stupid reason, you are still worried about your stupid little rabbit clones!" Alice stood up and made her way around the table to leave the room.

"Not only do I not have time for this, I don't have to put up with this!" Alice told her. Jade stepped in the way of the door, a sneer on her lips as she moved to Alice, getting in her face.

"I advise you stay, because if you don't, and the plan fails because you had 'better things' that you needed to tend to, I will have your funding cut. I have some new information that was given to me by a friend, and I would say that it's easily more than enough to get rid of you Alice. So sit your ass down, and listen for a moment, okay?" Frustration filled Alice's eyes, knowing that Jade was bluffing, but she gave a soft smirk and moved back to her seat, placing her files on the table and scroll on top of them. She looked up at Jade.

"I'm all ears," Alice said, a bite of contempt hung in the air. Jade came down from her power trip, clearing her throat, and sitting across from them.

"We should be ready to put our plan into effect in two to three days. The purpose of the crate of combined dusts that Joseph managed to bring back to headquarters here is that once it is paired with my glass dust, it makes a substance that's capable of replicating any semblance that's added to it. When I faced off against Weiss the other day I was able to cut her and we managed to add the blood and it took. This will allow me to summon Salem. Now, I've worked with Alice to make a near perfect clone of myself that will easily fool Salem. Salem will possess the body and before she can realize the mistake she's made, I plan on transferring my aura and semblance into her. We were unable to create an artificial aura and Ashley left us before she could help, so we'll proceed without it," Jade explained. "I will have a team working around the clock starting today to set the device up and have it ready by the end of tomorrow, but practically, it won't be prepared for another day or so."

"It's about time," Joseph exclaimed as he sat back and placed his feet on the table.

"Oh yes, let's talk about your performance, shall we," Jade asked. "You killed one of them Joseph. Not to mention the one that you managed to off was a nobody that we really could have cared less about. You couldn't have focused on Pyrrha, or Blake, or even Ruby?" Rowan chuckled and Joseph put his feet down, looking across Ivory whose mind seemed occupied, and glaring at Rowan.

"You want to talk punk?" Joseph asked.

"You aren't much of one for talking, you're more of the brutish type, aren't you?" Rowan asked. He returned Joseph's glare with his own, fire in his eyes as his mouth twisted. "Why don't we go to the training room and settle this, since all you know how to do is hit things? Sound accurate?" Rowan glanced up at Jade for a moment and then back at Joseph. "I'd kill you, but it wouldn't be useful in anyway, just another nobody killed in the line of fire." Joseph leapt up at the same time as Rowan, Jade yelling at both of them.

"Sit down, both of you!" Jade demanded. Joseph begrudgingly grabbed his chair, pulling it back out.

"Huh, seems like he does know how words work. Though I guess he's used to you gripping his balls," Rowan offered off hand staring at Jade. His expression was blank and Jade remained motionless for a moment as she stood.

"Leave Rowan." Rowan looked down at his sister who buried her face before he looked back up at Jade, a wicked look on his face.

"No, I think I'll stay and finish saying my peace. Ivory never knew this, but I told you once that I had feelings for you Jade. Not family like feelings, the kind that Ivory feels for you. No, the kind that tears a heart apart at the thought of that person being with someone else. Normally I act like I don't care, but it's that's the façade that was demanded of me, but quite frankly I've had enough. I'm not about to tell you that I wanted you to screw me for the sake of screwing me like you do with Joseph there, but I'm not going to act like I can ignore it anymore. All that Salem comes first bullshit!" He blurted out.

"Rowan! I never cared for you like that! It was just a question! I asked you out of morbid curiosity!" Jade replied slamming her fists. Joseph stifled a chuckle and Rowan shot him a look before looking back up at Jade.

"I guess I lied to you Ivory," Rowan said. Ivory looked up at him behind her and she saw the hurt in his eyes. "When Ruby asked if I had felt that pain before. I had." Rowan moved around Alice and left the room, Jade quick on his heels and closing the door behind her.

"Rowan!" She yelled at him. He turned back to her, staring at the ground. "Knock this shit off! You loved me?! Get real!" He let out an amused grunt and turned away.

"Oh, I am now. I'll be the perfect killing machine I've always been again. Forget any of that ever happened." Two guards ran past Rowan as he rounded the corner and stopped in front of Jade.

"What do you two want?!" She yelled at them.

"Nightshade has hacked our broadcast system!" The one exclaimed. Jade gave them both a bewildered look.

"And…?"

"Ruby Rose is the one giving the broadcast!" The other yelled. Jade eyes widened and for the first time since Salem had found her, she felt panic.

* * *

"Are you ready Ruby?" Coco asked as they set the camera up in Blake's room and Ruby sat on the couch. Ruby sat up straight and looked back at Neo who worked on her hair. Neo kept grabbing her jaw and facing her back towards the camera so that she could continue working. Ruby took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess," Ruby replied nervously. Coco set her laptop up on Blake's desk and opened the program.

"Ashley planted a bug in the server room before she was discovered and I've been working nonstop to try and break through the Rose Petals' security program, but it's something far more sophisticated than I'm used to. Anything that they have specifically protected from outside access has been virtually impossible to gain any ground on, but they never anticipated that we'd want to hack Weiss's broadcast system, so it has virtually no security. Once we're in, it'll only be a matter of time before someone pinpoints my hack and removes us from the system, so whatever you think needs to be heard and will help convince Weiss that it's really you, needs to be said quickly," Coco explained. Ruby nodded understanding, Blake standing behind the camera and looking at Ruby.

"I hope this works," Blake told her. Ruby smiled sheepishly.

"I hope so too." Coco pointed at Blake and the camera's light blinked on, indicating that it was live.

"You're on." Blake stated. Ruby could hear her pulse pounding in her ears, but she shook it off and swallowed hard. This was it, the moment that she had been waiting for since they had woken her up.

"Hello everyone. I don't know if this broadcast will only be seen in the city of Vale, the entire kingdom, or all of Remnant, but I think that a lot of you are already well aware of who I am. My name is Ruby Rose, I saved Remnant when my team, Team RWBY, fought Cinder Falls at the tower of Beacon and emerged victorious. We were instant celebrities and everywhere we went, people knew who we were. Roughly a year passed and on my wedding day, an organization by the name of Raven's Claw was thought to have murdered me. This isn't true. Well, not completely.

Someone who works with the Rose Petals is behind all of this. According to an incredibly reliable source, we've been told that Rose Petals has been hiring Raven's Claw all along to commit crimes to make Rose Petals appear as though they're helping people, but they aren't. Nightshade has been trying to stop Rose Petals for 5 years now and they've made us out to be bad guys, but we're not the bad guys. Rose Petals has turned some of our closest friends into spies and brainwashed fighters. They… They've even killed some of us. I've only been awake from a medically induced coma for 2 weeks, but I've seen too much death in that time.

It's not because Rose Petals is mostly made up of Faunus, it has nothing to do with that at all. It only has to do with the person pulling the strings over there, and that person is not my fiancé, I'm sure of it. Weiss, if you can hear this, we have Yang. I knew you wouldn't kill anyone. I never gave up on you for a moment and I'm here for you. I know that you can turn this around before it's too late-"

"They cut the feed," Coco called over. Ruby sighed as she slumped back against the couch. "You think it was enough?"

"Only time will tell."

* * *

How will this affect the timeline? Will Weiss see this and come to her senses? I'd like to point out once again that this was written prior to Season 4, when we found out that Raven is a lot less friendly than one might have previously thought lol. Next week we'll see how Rose Petals reacts in Chapter 29 - Switching Sides!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	33. Chapter 29 - Switching Sides

"Cut the feed!" Jade screamed as she threw the door open to the server room, dragging the two men that had come to find her before and throwing them into the room. "Shut down the entire server if you have to, but this broadcast needs to end now!" She exited back out into the hallway, hearing Ruby's voice over the intercom in the building was like nails on a chalk board and she stopped outside of Weiss's office long enough to discover that she was viewing the feed with Dorian and the twins.

"Someone who works with Rose Petals is behind all of this," Ruby said. Jade was filled with contempt and headed back down the hall, climbing into the elevator and making her way to the hangar. They would need to complete the device as soon as possible.

Meanwhile Weiss finished watching the feed as it ended, static filled the video screen for a moment before the window closed on her computer. Weiss's eyes were marred with shock and horror as she exchanged looks at Dorian and the Alettas. Her hands balled into fists and she slammed them against her desk. Dorian stood in shock, was it possible that everything that Ashley had told him was actually true? He thumbed at his pocket for a moment, just to make sure that his scroll was on him. Ivory moved beside the desk and crouched, looking slightly up at Weiss.

"Weiss. Ms. Schnee, are you okay?" Ivory asked. Weiss shoved her away and stood up from her chair, her mouth hinged open in an anguished scream and she let it out, causing them to flinch. Her hands rested on her desk, supporting her body for a moment as she screamed again, feeling light headed this time. Dorian wrapped an arm around her and she looked at him, shaking her head and pushing him away as well.

"Why would Blake do this?" Weiss asked. "I know Ruby's dead, but it sounded so convincing…" Rage swept over her and she threw her desk over, a glyph opening in the middle of the room and as it closed, a shock wave of energy threw all of them back against the nearest wall. It tore the door off of the hinges and threw it into the hallway, shattering the window beside her. "It's not possible! I am Weiss Schnee and I oversee everything that happens here! This couldn't have happened!" She looked at them. "It didn't happen! Ruby is dead and they are messing with my head!" Rowan separated himself from the wall and landed on his feet, pulling Weiss in as she sobbed again. She looked up at him, shocked at his reaction.

"Would you like for us to take you home Ms. Schnee?" He asked. She shook in his arms, she had never felt as weak as she did in that moment. At least, not since she held Ruby's lifeless body in her arms. She nodded lightly and he picked her up, carrying her like a child. They all exited into the hallway and filed out of the building, stepping out into the fresh air of the clear and starry night. Ivory looked at Weiss who was calmed for a moment and then up at the stars as well.

"I'm sure that Blake wouldn't try so hard if she didn't care about you," Ivory spoke. Had the words actually come out of her mouth? At that instant she wished she could take them back, but they were already out there, and her brother gave her a concerned look, cocking his head. _I just wanted to comfort her._ She'd have to explain herself later. Rowan flapped his wings and took off with Ivory close behind him and they flew back towards Weiss's manor, leaving Dorian alone in front of the building. He removed his scroll and dialed the number he had been given before. Someone picked up.

"This is Ashley," the voice answered. Dorian wavered for a moment as he contemplated hanging up. If he did this, there would be no turning back, and Jade would have a permanent target placed on his head. He gulped and headed out towards the parking lot. "Hello?"

"Ashley. This is Dorian Bradbury. Weiss Schnee's personal assistant," he told her. As he reached the middle of the parking lot behind the last few rows of remaining vehicles, he stopped time for the guards at the gate and snuck past them as they were frozen, making a quick sprint into the woods and allowing them to move again. He wasn't sure where he was heading at that time, but he knew he needed to get out of sight.

"I remember. So, you've decided, huh?" She asked him. He chuckled to himself as he steadied himself, slowly moving down the hillside.

"She's really alive, isn't she?" He asked.

"Yeah, she really is. We're not sure who was behind all of this, but I get a sneaking suspicion…"

"Jade." He interrupted. His answer was met with silence and he assumed that she was satisfied with the answer.

"So did you figure out where they're keeping the rabbit?" Ashley asked him. Dorian stopped at a tree as he spotted a White Rabbit staring straight at him in the middle of the woods. His body panicked and he found himself frozen. "Dorian?" He couldn't answer, he had to have time to think about what to do next. If he tried to move for his watch, the rabbit would take off and it would move faster than he'd be able to pinpoint in order to stop or rewind it. He held his breath for a moment and it still watched him, taking a step closer, its left ear twitching ever so slightly, as though it was trying to listen to Ashley on the other end. "Dorian, are you okay?"

"Velvet?" He asked. The rabbit tilted its head, as though he had suddenly peaked its curiosity with something. "Velvet?" Its head tilted back the other way.

"Yes, that's her name," Ashley replied.

"Mother never calls us by that name. She only calls us Child or uses our number," the rabbit told him. Dorian slowly reached into his pocket and grabbed the watch by its chain. The rabbit watched all the while, wondering what he was doing. He slowly pulled on it, and managed to remove it from his pocket but as it slid out, the chain slipped through his fingers and the watch hit the ground. The rabbit took off and he quickly snatched the watch up. He threw his scroll onto the ground and took off running. He had never tried this but the area he was in was too open and too large for him to rewind both himself and the rabbit, leaving him only with the choice of trying to fast forward his own time to catch it. He quickly manipulated the watch and took off, on the rabbit's heels before he knew it and grabbing it.

It turned on him, batting him away quickly with a well-placed hit from its knife. He bounced off of a tree, dropping his watch in the process, unable to look for it at the time. His mind took a moment to catch up, knowing that the rabbits used to be non-violent and used only to report activity. In the wake of Weiss telling her that they wouldn't be good for stealth, had Alice decided to allow them to be defensive, and possibly even offensive? He tore open his clock glyph with incredible speed, knocking the rabbit's knife down several times before grabbing his shadow sword out of the clock face. He swung with all he had and the rabbit jumped over it, stabbing him several times in the chest in the follow through.

He guided the blade back in front of him, holding the blade towards the top with his right hand and gripping the bottom with his left. With uncanny speed they went at each other and he blocked seven attempts in a row before the eighth made it through, slicing through his suit and across his arm.

"What you don't realize," he shouted over her onslaught, taking a few more slices to his torso, shredding his jacket. "Is that I don't need that watch to use my semblance! It just helps concentrate it!" A rush of energy poured past him from the clock glyph behind him, grabbing the rabbit and holding it in place. Dorian drew his sword back and slammed it into the rabbit's chest. It struggled, kicking and screaming until it finally succumbed and it slid off of the end of his blade. The glyph closed behind him and he could feel the blood trickling down his neck from his ear. Speeding time up was tearing apart his body. He stumbled forward and grabbed the watch, fixing the effect. It threw him onto his back and the time displacement spread out quickly in an explosion as he released it, reducing the plant life around him to dead grass and trees. He turned to the body, it had been reduced to bone.

"Dorian, are you okay?!" He could hear Ashley asking as he returned to the scroll and he held it up to his ear. He laughed out of spite and continued to stumble down the hill.

"I had a run in with a White Rabbit, but it's been taken care of, now what was the last thing that you asked me again?" He asked her.

"Did you figure out where they are keeping Velvet?" She asked.

"I did, and the lengths I went to in order to get the information are more than I care to talk about. I will warn you that there is a slight chance that she might move her before your next attack," he informed her.

"Why's that?" Ashley asked.

"I had to let someone know what I was looking for. That's what I exchanged for the location. There was no avoiding it." _Even if I had rewound time and not told her on the elevator, Jade would have eventually found me. I'm a horrible liar, and I also know how much she needed the leverage over Alice._ "Now where are you located?"

"I'll send the coordinates to you right away and I'll look forward to seeing you. I'll let you in," she told him. She ended the call and he took a break from his descent to catch his breath. He had never done anything this crazy before. He wondered if Weiss was okay but he shook his head and opened the file as his scroll lit up. Weiss meant more to him than any of the others, and it was his sole purpose to make sure that she was happy. If that meant bringing Ruby to her, then he would gladly give up his fantasy and reunite them.

* * *

"Is there anything else that you'd like before we leave Weiss?" Ivory asked her as she stepped away from Weiss's bed a moved to the door. Weiss had changed into her nightgown, still in shock over the broadcast. She sat on the edge of her mattress, facing the glass case that contained Ruby's hood and brushed her hair. She shook her head as she looked up at Ivory and Rowan who both stood by the door.

"No I'm alright, thank you," she told them. "The two of you can just stand watch in the hallway until Cardin arrives." She nodded at them. "Thank you." They nodded and left the room. Weiss waited for a moment and listened for them to make small talk as she lightly padded across the floor and locked the door, moving to the glass case and opening it, pulling out Ruby's cape and draping it over herself. _I never gave up on you for a moment and I'm here for you. I know that you can turn this around before it's too late._ Weiss shook as she gingerly moved back to her bed and climbed in, wrapping the cape around her body and clutching it tight. She cried into it, her mind in an abyss of confusion. No matter how badly she wanted Ruby to be alive, she just couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

She closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would come and that in the morning she'd be able to forget the pain and move past it. She could hear the twins in the hall and she prayed that it was over soon.

"Why did you say that to Weiss before about Blake," Rowan asked his sister. Weiss listened closely, wondering herself.

"I just… I don't like seeing her upset like that. She's human too you know," Ivory told him. "Just like I didn't like seeing you upset this morn-"

"Don't bring that up ever again," he told her. "Being upset is a part of being human. Protecting Weiss is what we've been hired to do. Nothing more. It doesn't matter if she's happy, sad, pissed off, anything. All we worry about, is watching her."

* * *

Dorian stepped into the main hallway with Ash and watched as Blake spotted them, moving through the empty hall and stopping in front of him.

"This is Dorian. We can trust him," Ashley told Blake. Blake reached back, her hand gripping Gambol Shroud. He flinched as she extended her hand, holding it out for a handshake.

"If I had any sense, I'd make you sing like a bird, but since Ashley trusts you and she hasn't steered us wrong since she started helping Qrow, I guess we can give you a chance. She also indicated that you don't know much of what was going on in regards to Ruby's disappearance and that whole plan, but I guess we'll work with what we can get," Blake told him. She shook his hand and continued to hold her hand out.

"I'm sorry?" He asked.

"Your scroll. Ashley might trust you, but you're still going to have to earn it from the rest of us," she told him. He handed it over to her and she whistled down the hall. Neo appeared next to her and she handed to the scroll off to her. "Destroy this in any way you see fit. Just ensure that it's completely destroyed and then bring it to Coco to ensure that there isn't any kind of tracking device." Neo nodded and teleported and Blake held out her hand again.

"Now what?" He asked.

"Weapons?" She asked. He groaned, handing over his watch and she looked it over. She laughed. "Really, this is it? A watch?"

"Yeah? And?" Ruby stepped into the hall from the kitchen and scurried over to them.

"Maybe it's also a gun!" She exclaimed.

"Not quite," he replied laughing. "It allows me to open time glyphs. I can control time, but it's quite limited."

"Ruby, it's lights out!" Blake told her. Ruby looked down at the floor, tracing it with her foot and swinging her arms.

"You're still up, so I thought it would be okay if I'm still up," Ruby explained. Blake shook her head and looked back at Dorian who seemed captivated with Ruby.

"You're Ruby Rose!" Dorian exclaimed. Ruby nodded and smiled.

"In the flesh!" She exclaimed. He couldn't comprehend it. It wasn't a trick after all, Ruby was alive and she had been with Nightshade for 2 weeks!

"Everything in that video was true? Everything you said?" He asked.

"You saw it?"

"We all saw it! Jade's shaking in her heels! Weiss still doesn't believe it though!" He told her. Ruby's eyes lit up at the mention of Weiss.

"How is she?"

"She thinks about you every day Ruby. Not a day goes by that she doesn't truly believe that she's trying to do right by you." Ruby blushed and smiled, looking away.

"Alright, enough of the small talk, I still need proof. Tell me what you know and we can go from there," Blake told Dorian.

"Right!" Coco stuck her head out into the hall for a moment, looking at the group. The new voice sounded familiar. "I know that Jade is in charge of the inner cabinet. The members include myself, Ivory Aletta, Rowan…" Coco snapped to attention, her mind finally realizing where she knew his voice from. She quickly moved to her room, grabbing her purse, and marching across the hall, stopping in the middle of the group, and slamming her purse into Dorian's crotch. He hit the floor.

"Coco!" Blake exclaimed. Coco wound up, swinging her purse back and bringing it down over her head, smashing it against the top of his head. He fell limp to the floor and they all looked up at her with wide eyes. Her chest heaved as she returned their stares before dropping onto her hands and knees and moving to his ear.

"Where's Velv?! Where's my honey bun?!" She screamed. Blake pulled her up off of the floor. Coco moved to transform her gun and blow him away.

"Neo!" Blake yelled.

"Calm down Coco!" Ruby shouted stepping in between her and Dorian.

"No! Why the hell is he here!?" She demanded. "I'll mow you down too Ruby! This guy is the reason I couldn't save Velvet! He's the reason I'm blind!" Neo appeared, broken scroll in her hand and viewing the mass chaos that had developed since she had left. She looked up at Blake and held her hands out in confusion.

"Neo, take him to your panic room before things get worse, could you?" Blake asked frantically as Ruby tried to calm Coco. Neo grabbed him and saluted them, teleporting away. Coco shook loose of Ruby, dropping her purse and socking Blake in the jaw. Blake reeled back and moved for Coco, Ruby stepped between them.

"Coco…" Blake tried to explain.

"Don't you Coco me!" She shouted at Blake. Ash grabbed Coco's purse and slid it across the floor back towards the situation room. Coco glanced back and returned her glare towards Blake.

"I didn't know! And if you told me, I forgot. I'm sorry, okay, but he's all we have in terms of information at the moment and we kind of need him!" Blake exclaimed. Coco shoved Ruby, reaching past her in an attempt to grapple Blake.

"We aren't that desperate!" Coco yelled.

"He knows where Velvet is!" Silence instantaneously filled the hallway and they all looked past each other to acknowledge Ashley. Coco turned slowly towards Ashley and adjusted her glasses.

"What… What did you just say?" Coco asked. She moved to Ashley and bent over at the waist, placing the two of them face to face. "Did you say…?"

"Yes. When I was there I found the information, but I had been compromised way earlier that I had anticipated and wasn't able to put everything together. I didn't want to tell you that we had something if we really didn't, but he told me on his way here tonight that he found out where she is," Ashley explained. Neo appeared on the far end of the hall, looking down at Coco's purse and then back up at the group. Neo shrugged but Ruby tried to discreetly wave her off. Coco stood back up, looking back at Blake and then at Ruby.

"Velv?" Coco fell to her knees and cried with her forehead placed to the floor. "Velv! Finally!" She looked up at Ashley from the floor. "I'm sorry! Thank you! Thank you so much Ashley!" Ashley held her hand out and helped Coco to her feet.

"It was nothing." She walked past Coco and headed to the rooms, Ruby following suit behind her. Coco walked to Blake, her head hung.

"Blake, I'm sorry-" Blake grabbed her arm and Coco looked her in the eyes. Blake examined them for a long moment before speaking.

"There it is." Blake said softly.

"What?" Coco asked. Blake smiled.

"The joy in your eyes. It's back." Coco smirked and shoved Blake away. She snapped at Neo.

"Let's go get this guy and find Velvet," Coco told Neo.

"You might want to wait until he wakes up naturally. He's going to have a massive headache as it is." They both laughed and Neo rolled her eyes, teleporting out of the hall.

"Yeah, I suppose he will."

* * *

Dorian rolled over onto his side as he slowly opened his eyes and came to, barely remembering the night before. He was sure that it had gone the same as every night did. He left Weiss at the door of her room and proceeded to his own room, getting undressed, and falling asleep as he found himself deep in thought about whether or not he should tell Weiss how he feels, and whether or not he should tell Jade off once and for all. He knew that neither of those things would end well, and so normally he just pondered them, the same way that a person might count sheep in order to drift off. As he became aware of his surroundings however, he wasn't staring out the window of Schnee Manor, but at a blank concrete wall.

He quickly sat up, feeling that something was off and felt himself over. Why the hell was he still dressed, had he been drugged the night before? It was some cruel joke played on him by Jade and the twins no doubt. He quickly realized that he wasn't in his room, but somewhere completely and entirely different. He looked across the room at the blonde that was reading a book that she held with her left hand. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Hi there! I'm Yang! You can't tell, but I'm waving to you with me right arm!" She yelled over to him. He nodded, more or less appreciating her sense of humor, and he threw his legs over the side of the bed, trying to stand. He lifted himself up but quickly sat back down, his head was throbbing and he felt a slight discomfort in his groin. He groaned as he looked over at Yang again. "Don't worry, I'm sure that Neo will be here to get you in a moment." No sooner than Yang describing to him what would happen, Neo appeared and grabbed his arm, teleporting him into the kitchen where he was greeted by Blake and Ruby, both dressed and ready to leave. It was then that Dorian remembered what was going on.

"Just the three of us then?" He asked.

"Not quite," Blake replied. Neo reappeared with Yang who gave them a grin and handed the book to Blake.

"Yang's going with us? On such a short recovery?" Ruby asked.

"Yang's always been resilient. She woke up in the middle of the night last night and I took her to the training room and she checked out," Blake explained. Yang nodded. "I've been meaning to ask since you woke up yesterday Yang, how did you end up in that alley?"

"I had received an anonymous tip while I was out on recon about Ruby. I don't know why, but the thought of her being alive pissed me off all over again. I turned off my radio and did some investigation so that you wouldn't get hurt trying to help, but I guess it kind of backfired," Yang explained. Blake shook her head and sighed.

"Well, I'm just glad to have you back," Blake told her.

"You got my arm and gauntlet's babe? I miss Ember Celica, and my mom sliced off the arm that Rose Petals had made me," Yang told her. Blake grabbed her arm and weapons off of the table and handed them to her, helping her attach the arm as Yang kissed her. "I missed you Blake."

"I missed you too, but if you don't stop kissing me for a moment I'm not going to be able to reattach your arm," Blake explained. Yang chuckled and continued to kiss Blake's neck.

"Nah, you got this," Yang told her in between kisses. Ruby smiled at her sister and turned to face Dorian.

"So, how are we getting in?" Ruby asked. Dorian looked uncomfortable for a moment, scratching his head and rubbing his jaw.

"Well?" Yang asked. Her arm snapped into the socket and she grunted slightly, shooting Blake a dirty look. Blake gave her a coy smile and stepped out into the hallway, leading them out. She handed Dorian's watch back to him.

"I was going to plan something last night before something hit me in the head," Dorian explained to them. Coco stepped out of her room into the hallway and made her way towards them, purse in hand.

"That would have been me, sorry about that," Coco apologized. Dorian's eyes grew wide as he recognized her.

"You're the one from the ship!" He exclaimed. "I'm sorry about all of that, we really thought we were doing the right thing!" She walked past them and stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"Don't try and defend what you did. Just help us find Velv and I'll be more grateful than you could ever know," she told him.

"Coco!" Ashley yelled running down the hall towards them and clutching Velvet's box. Coco looked at Ashley who presented it, she bowed her head.

"What…" Coco was cut off.

"Isn't Velvet going to need this?" Ashley asked. Coco gave her a thoughtful smirk, taking the box, and fastening it to her back.

"Thanks kid." Ashley nodded and took a step back out of the group.

"Coco?" Blake asked as they moved towards her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going with, what does it look like I'm doing?" She asked them.

"Are you serious? I mean, are you sure you'll be okay? It's been a long time since you've been in the field," Blake told her. "I realize that you want to help us save Velvet, but maybe it's for the best that you stay back here and over see things like you always do." Coco smirked again as she began heading up the stairs and they chased after her.

"Nothing is stopping me today. We have a 3 mile trek from here to the base of Mountain Glenn, I'm sure we'll figure out a plan before we get there, and I can help plan on the way in," She told Blake. She reached the top and kicked the door open, stepping out into the frigid early winter air. Snow was lightly starting to fall and it was roughly 2 in the afternoon, Dorian had been out for quite some time. "Going in through the front isn't really an option at all, even though I have Rose Petal uniforms for all of us, they'll recognize us much quicker if we go in through the front. I even let Dorian change into one seeing as his suit was ripped from his run in with one of the rabbits last night."

"Roll Call should be done by the time we get there, we could go in through the White Rabbit tunnels," Dorian told them as they all stopped just outside of the lookout room. Coco squirmed and rubbed her neck, looking away from them and focusing on a rock on the ground. Neo appeared in the middle of their huddle, distributing uniforms. Neo also handed a mask to Ruby, knowing that she was the most recognizable of the group. Ruby shot her a look and smiled.

"Raven's?!" She asked excitedly. Neo nodded and Ruby leapt up and down snickering, imagining Raven waking up in the guest room that morning and finding that her mask was gone.

"Is there going to be a better way than that to get into the building?" Coco pled.

"Not really. The White Rabbit roll call floor is one floor above Alice's office, and that's where we have to get to. If we try and go in through the hangar we'll be stopped by every off duty member of the military that's there today, and if we use any of the other tunnels, we'll end up in Alice's lab, which is more heavily guarded than Schnee Manor," Dorian explained to them. Nausea rolled through Coco's body as they began walking towards their destination and Blake stopped her as the others continued on. Coco looked past Blake at the others, but Blake forced her to look her in the eyes.

"I understand that you want to save Velvet. I get that you feel like you owe it to her, and that you should be the one to do it. I've felt all of that before with Yang, it's what got Velvet kidnapped before. If you don't think that you are up to this, by no means will anyone, especially Velvet, think any less of you," Blake told her.

"I know that Blake. But here's the thing. The reason why I never proposed to Velvet, was because I didn't feel like I was good enough for her. I felt like if I wasn't out in the field and fighting, that she'd think less of me. I thought she'd get sick of me. I want to prove myself to her. I want her to know how strong I am, how strong I managed to be for her," Coco explained. Blake frowned, giving Coco a thoughtful and amused sigh before turning away from her. "What is it?"

"All this time I lied to you," Blake told her. "Velvet's reason for wanting to come with. She didn't make me promise to keep it from you, I just thought it was too hard to talk about. I think you deserve to know now, it might help you get through all of this, because to be honest Coco, I'm going to need you here with me today." Coco trembled slightly, nodding slowly at Blake.

"Why then? Why did Velvet want to go with you so badly that day?" Blake gnashed her teeth, the thought bringing tears to her eyes.

"She… She thought that if she didn't prove to you how strong she could be, that you wouldn't want to be with her anymore." Silence fell between the two of them. "Sound familiar?" Coco sniffed hard as the tears came again and she began to follow after the group again, Blake close behind her. She laughed, shaking her head.

"That silly bunny! I'd love her no matter what!" Blake smiled.

"And she loves you no matter what Coco." Blake threw her arm over Coco and they walked together, laughing and smiling, it felt amazing.

* * *

Dorian joins Nightshade to provide them with insight, but will it be enough to stop Jade? Next week Nightshade tries to find Velvet in Chapter 30 - Down the Rabbit Hole!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	34. Chapter 30 - Down the Rabbit Hole

Before we start today's chapter I'd like to address something that a reader brought up in the comments on AO3. They felt that if Weiss had given permission to turn Yang into an Angel that she'd be unforgivable. He had a valid point and in the first draft of the story, it was planned that Jade never gave Weiss the full details of the process or what happened, and that Weiss had indeed given permission, but Jade lied and said that Yang had died in the process. It was a bit of a cop out and still didn't make Weiss's choice anymore acceptable, and was more or less a break in character. So I told the reader that this is what happened and got a message moments later from Organoid telling me that I misremembered what we decided on.

In all honesty, I finished writing this story almost a year ago and have written nearly 300,000 words for my next story since then, so the details had become fuzzy. The final explanation that we'd settled on was that Weiss had kept Yang alive the entire time, she only wanted to use Yang as leverage and when faking her death had failed she'd kept her as a prisoner. Jade had only turned her into an Angel a few days before the battle of Grimm, and without permission from Weiss. Jade and Weiss kept up the ruse that Yang was dead so that Weiss came of as sincere in her future threats. I hope that this all clears up any confusion and I'm sorry to that reader for giving out the wrong information the first time.

* * *

"Are we ready?" Coco asked, her voice low as they entered the end of the tunnel, crouching and slowly advancing further in. "How long do we have before the next roll call?"

"I've never been all that keen on the schedule, but if I recall, the next major wave won't be through for at least another 10 minutes," he told her. "The problem that we might run into is if there are any that get in early or late, though they typically aren't early. Ruby will probably have to get rid of them if we do meet any, their speed is something else." Coco took off down the tunnel without warning, leaving the others behind for a moment in confusion before they ran after her. They entered the building behind Coco, a large stair case before them that led down into the debriefing room. They slowly entered the room, looking around and noting only one man in the middle of the room, three rabbits were at the other end, talking with men that sat at tables. Coco's hand shook, rattling the handle on her purse, her knuckles white from death gripping it. They made their way for the man in the middle and he spotted them as they reached him.

"Stop! Who are you? Where are you coming from?" He called out. Dorian moved past them to the front and addressed him.

"Proctor! These members are interested in joining the science division. I took their applications last week and they have been approved by both Ms. Schnee and Ms. Landis. They were given a tour to show them the ins and outs of the White Rabbit program," Dorian explained to him.

"Why wasn't I informed of this ahead of time Mr. Bradbury?" The proctor eyed him up and down and Dorian chuckled, adjusting his tie. He removed his watch, looking at it and noting the time, it was a few moments before, and he hoped to be in the elevator before more rabbits showed up and Coco lost her nerve.

"I could have told you that we were coming and given you time to prepare, making sure that everything was just so and perfect. You would have left an impression of absolute professionalism in their minds and they would have been most impressed without a doubt. However, by not telling you that we were on our way, they've had the pleasure of witnessing the operation in its most au natural and vulnerable state. This is the everyday experience that they'll become accustomed to once they've been here for a few weeks and as opposed to putting on airs, I've found it far more profound and appropriate that they get a display of the imperfect. Now wouldn't you agree that's better?" Dorian asked. He had lost the proctor somewhere at the beginning of his speech and the proctor gave him a confused look, gesturing towards the door that led back to the elevator.

"Sure. Yes, absolutely. If you don't mind, I need to have a few minutes to prepare for the next wave, so if you would kindly continue on your way, it would be much appreciated," he instructed them. Dorian nodded and checked his watch again.

"Come along everyone, there's still much to see," he called out over his group. They followed him and they piled into the elevator. Ruby pulled off her mask, shaking her head to uncross her eyes.

"You use a lot of big and confusing words," she told Dorian. He laughed.

"Not normally. I just needed to confuse the poor bastard so he'd stop questioning us." They all laughed for a moment and as the elevator began its decent, it came to a halt, the lights shutting off. "Not good." A red light came on and slowly blinked. "Apparently my act didn't work, they manually cut the power."

"Now what?" Ruby asked.

"If someone doesn't turn the power back on, we're trapped in here until they do so, and whoever does so will no doubt drag us up to the main level and have us dealt with," Dorian explained. "That someone will most likely be Jade."

"You said that this office is the next floor down?" Coco asked as she felt the floor over.

"Yes, there's an access panel on the floor here somewhere, why?" Dorian asked. Coco pried it open and leapt into the shaft, grabbing onto the cable and sliding down. She landed on the bottom, firing at the sliding door until it was filled with bullets and she began slamming her purse against it, determined to keep it up until the door gave way.

"Coco!" Blake called out. Suddenly the power was restored and the elevator car began ascending up through the shaft. Blake climbed back into the car and stumbled as it continued upward.

"Why would they put an access panel on the bottom?" Ruby asked.

"The shaft has a really faulty design and the only way to access underneath the car…" It came to a sudden stop again and they stumbled around. Yang had hit the emergency stop, halting the car once more. "They can override that you know."

"I have an idea," Yang told them. "Blake if you have a comm on you, tell Coco to get in that hallway ASAP." Blake nodded.

"Got it." Dorian looked at the women, realizing what they had come up with.

"You can't be serious," he told them.

"Oh yeah," Yang exclaimed. "We're going down on this shaft!" Ruby's eyes twitched as she looked at her sister.

"What's her problem?" Dorian muttered under his breath.

"That was hardly a pun, that was just lewd," Ruby told her.

* * *

Coco stepped into the hallway and her boots clicked off of the marble as she spotted the mirror at the end. She was confident, there was no fear in her thoughts, no hesitation, and no tinge of panic. They only thing that was on her mind was saving her honey bun, and destroying the woman that had taken her away. The seconds that it took to walk the length of the hallway almost seemed like an eternity and when she reached the end, she took a moment to look herself over in the mirror. She looked good.

"Coco, if you're still down there…" Coco reached up and turned off her radio. She didn't need anything distracting her. Everything had come down to this moment. She slowly pressed herself against the mirror and it gave, swinging open and revealing an empty room to her. She stepped in, her boots silenced completely by the white carpet. She closed the door behind her, making a slow three sixty. This was the room that Dorian had sent her to without a doubt, but there was nothing here. This was not an office like had described, but looked like an empty bedroom, the only thing that remained was a wall mirror that was hung on the side opposite of the door. Coco stepped up to it, looked into the mirror, but instead of her reflection, she saw Alice.

Light blue eyes and long blonde hair. She recognized the face immediately, it was the face that had haunted her every night before she went to sleep. Coco raised her hand and Alice's image imitated her.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Alice said. Coco spun her entire body back to the right, gripping her purse with both hand and swinging as hard as she could. It smashed through the mirror and the shattered pieces of glass fell to the floor. Coco watched as each piece fell, shards landing around her boots. She held her purse against the wall as she breathed heavily. Had she been outsmarted? Outmaneuvered? Coco drew back her weapon to reveal a handle in the middle of the wall that had been covered by the looking glass. Coco smashed her hand through what fragments of mirror remained and turned the handle, swinging the wall open.

* * *

The car began moving again, but not before Ruby and Blake had climbed on top of it, preparing their idea.

"So, once we come to a stop and the door opens, I'll cut the cable! Blake will try to use her ribbon with Gambol Shroud to slow our descent back down and we'll come to a rest at the bottom!" Ruby exclaimed. "This might actually work!" The car finally slowed and came to a stop, the door slowly sliding open to reveal several Dust knights that were awaiting their arrival. Yang and Dorian peered out at them.

"Dorian Bradbury, step away from Yang Xiao Long!" They commanded. Yang laughed, pressing the button on the control panel.

"Sorry boys, I thought that this was the VIP room complete with mini-bar. My mistake!" She smiled and shrugged.

"Now!" Dorian shouted. Ruby sliced the cable after Blake had secured her ribbon on the door, but as soon as the car dropped, the ribbon snapped and they were in a free fall until hitting the bottom, three floors down. "That was rough!"

"Understatement!" Yang called out, she had braced for most of the impact with her cybernetic arm. Ruby had floated down in a mass of petals and Blake had stuck both of her blades into the shaft wall and slid down. Ruby climbed into the car and helped her sister and Dorian stand. Blake heard movement above her and looked up, stumbling back over her feet and quickly swinging into the car.

"We need to get into that hallway now!" Blake yelled.

"Why?" Ruby asked. She looked back out the top of the elevator car and noted countless White Rabbits sliding and leaping down the walls towards them. "Out! Out! Out!" Ruby shot out into the hallway as Blake boosted the last three out with the help of a clone.

"What did you see?" Yang asked. There was a repeated slamming against the roof of the car and White Rabbits poured out into the hall. "What the hell?!" Yang began firing through the mass and Ruby sliced through more of them. "Where did they all come from and where are they going?!"

"They're trying to protect their Mother!" Dorian called out as he summoned his Minute-Hand Sword. He cut down several off the rabbits.

"What do we do!?" Blake called out.

"We need to buy Coco some time, but I'm sure that Jade is well aware that we're here now!" Dorian called back over the thundering of rabbits.

* * *

Large, empty, warehouse like room. Pod similar to those of the Fallen Angels in the middle. A catwalk over the top running parallel to the wall she had just opened, for viewing whatever used to be kept here. A chill filled Coco as she stepped in and the wall closed behind her. More floodlights and spot lights turned on, forcing Coco to cover her glasses for a moment until they could adjust to the sudden change. Coco heard footsteps above and the looked up to see Alice standing on the catwalk above, leaning over the railing and smiling at her.

"Coco Adel." She said. The sound of her name coming from Alice caused an unnerving feeling in Coco and she gently gripped her purse, swinging it forward and letting it form into her mini gun as she kept her eyes on Alice. Alice smiled as though she found her amusing, yet pathetic. She pushed herself up off of the railing and leaned against the one behind her. "I'm glad that we were able to meet before it was all over, albeit a few weeks too early. I've been wanting to thank you ever since you made that fatal error on the ship and decided to tell Weiss that she was 'no better than her father'. You truly delivered the greatest scientific instrument to me that night, and yes, by instrument I do mean our beloved Velvet." Coco set down her gun and rolled up her sleeves, cracking her neck.

"Don't ever refer to her as _your_ Velvet, ever again," Coco warned her. She snatched up her gun and opened fire on Alice who ran away from her to the right, staying just ahead of Coco's aim. Alice chuckled as she vanished before Coco's eyes, and Coco slowly turned, holding her fire and looking for Alice around her.

"Velvet was the perfect test subject. There was something about her DNA that was just…" Alice paused to shudder with pleasure and Coco noted that she was somewhere to the right of the pod from the sound of her voice. "… Perfect. I tested her DNA and I worked without sleep day and night, sometimes forgetting to eat, sometimes forgetting to attend Jade's meetings, not that they really mattered. I was amazed at the strand of DNA that Velvet had provided to the life work that both my mother and I had put so much time and effort into. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would find the perfect strand and I'd be able to write the perfect clone." Alice was getting closer and Coco clung tighter to her weapon, listening for the woman and slowly following the sound of her footsteps.

"An exact copy?" Coco asked. Alice let out a loud and satisfied laugh and her voice stopped moving.

"No. A better copy." With that, Coco had heard enough and opened fire into the empty space from where she had heard Alice's voice. She slowly moved forward towards the last place she had thought Alice to be, filling the wall with bullets. Coco grunted as she ceased fire and swung back around towards the pod. "If anything, I'd say that I was close to making her perfect." Coco had had enough.

"Listen here you bitch! Velv is perfect!" Alice appeared directly in front of Coco and batted Coco's gun to the side using the bottom of her staff. She swung back over the top, the blade smashing off of Coco's aura and knocking her glasses off. In a stroke of luck Coco caught them and threw them back on without losing momentum, opening fire again on Alice, but Alice had ducked below her field of view. She swung from the ground, lodging her axe in the end of the gun's barrel and Coco proceeded to spray bullets, the shots piercing the catwalk just above Alice's head. Alice freed her axe and kicked Coco's gun, aiming it upwards but not completely removing it from Coco's hands. The image flickered in Coco's glasses, startling her and giving Alice an opening. Her axe made contact and Coco slid across the floor, further away from Velvet.

She decided to take a stab at her first backup plan and shot out the lights, activating the night vision built into her glasses, but the image flickered again. Alice's attack paired with the damage she had done to them the other day was causing them to malfunction, and it couldn't have come at worse time. However, getting rid of the light in the room would give Coco the upper hand. She looked around, but Alice was nowhere to be found. She made a slow sweep of the area again when Alice appeared from thin air and brought her axe down on the end of the gun again, sticking in the barrel once more. Coco transformed it back to a purse quickly and ducked Alice's next swing, cracking her in the jaw. Alice crashed to the floor, disappearing. _So she can teleport._ Alice began to chuckle.

"It's amazing really, to think that no one knew this entire time. My mother had always been ashamed of me, and that's why she made me wear contacts," Alice explained as though it would clear up confusion. "Faunus only have one animal feature, and the lucky ones… Well the lucky ones have animal eyes. Or in my case, rabbit eyes." Coco's mind twisted, now understanding the woman's morbid curiosity it Velvet. "And because I'm a Faunus, that means I have almost perfect night vision!" She reappeared, standing at an angle to Coco. Coco was startled and quickly formed her purse back into its gun form, but Alice flipped her switch out into an axe and removed the end of Coco's gun. The barrel crashed to the floor and Coco swung what was left of her purse back around, slamming it into Alice's chest. Alice reeled back and Coco released her weapon, letting the momentum carry Alice further away.

"You might have an ace, but I have one of my own!" Coco yelled. She reached out in front of her and Crescent Rose formed in her hands. Her vision flickered again as she looked about for Alice. She heard the wind from the blade behind her and turned to meet the axe with Ruby's scythe, combatting several attacks and forcing Alice to re-strategize.

"Good, you brought her camera with you! Now when you die I'll have the complete set!" Alice swung around again, sweeping low this time and as her blade met Coco's, the copy shattered and Coco leapt back, reaching out again and letting Ember Celica form on her arms. She blasted herself forward, reaching Alice in no time and slamming the axe out of her hand. A second hit plowed into her target, sending her sprawling as she reached out and snatched up her axe. Alice disappeared again. _Dammit, if she keeps using that semblance I'm going to run out of weapons._ Coco ran to the pod as Ember Celica disappeared.

"Don't worry Velvet, I'll get you out of there!" Coco yelled at the pod as she tried to pry it open with her hands. However it was no use and Alice had returned again without any prior warning this time. Coco quickly formed Gambol Shroud, but was too late and took the brunt of the blow to her stomach. It doubled her over and Alice batted her away, laughing as Coco slid across the floor. She shook her head as she moved to where Coco landed.

"Give up already. You can't stop me. You don't want it bad enough, you haven't been through as much pain as I have," Alice told her. She swung her axe down at Coco. Coco caught it with the sword and sheath blade and shoved her back, scrambling to her feet and transforming it into its gun form. She hooked the catwalk, swinging and placing herself on it. Now she had the higher ground and would have an advantage over her opponent. That was, if she hadn't disappeared again. Her glasses malfunctioned again, leaving her without vision for a long couple of seconds. Gambol Shroud disappeared and she reached up, hitting the side of the lenses with her hand. The vision returned

"You're wrong. I've been in love with Velvet now for almost 8 years, and she means more to me than anything else in the-" Coco found herself cut off as the staff appeared across her chest and Alice pulled up, choking her.

"Rule number one of battle is to never get caught off guard," Alice told her. Coco struggled against the woman and moved back quickly, slamming Alice's lower back into the railing. Coco leapt up and propped her feet against the opposite rail, suspending her body over the catwalk. She extended her legs, catching Alice off guard and throwing them both over the handrail. They both landed on their backs, hard against the floor and relatively close to each other. Pain filled Coco's body and she rolled away from Alice, struggling to find her feet. She had never taken this much of a beating before.

"Then rule number two is to never underestimate your opponent," Coco told her grunting. She reached out in front of her, a light version of her gun appearing in her grip. This was the last weapon, it was all she had been able to get pictures of quickly before they arrived. Where Alice had landed there was a small pool of blood, Alice must have been injured, but she was nowhere to be seen again. That's when Coco noted bloody footsteps appearing and moving for her.

"I've had enough of this nonsense!" Alice shouted. Her axe struck Coco's gun before appearing, allowing Alice to pull Coco towards her. The gun barrel slipped past Alice to her right and she released her axe momentarily, slamming her fist into Coco's face. Coco's glasses shut off again as the hit dazed her, Coco knew that her aura couldn't take another hit, and that the fall had weakened her significantly. Alice gripped the gun beside her, holding it in place as she followed up with her left fist, cracking Coco in the jaw and reactivating her glasses, but her aura broke and her gun disappeared. Alice smiled and gave a satisfied "hmph" as she hit Coco in the chest.

Coco stumbled back, coughing up blood and reaching for Velvet's box, managing to open it. Alice hit her again and Coco slid back, falling to her knees. The camera fell out and bounced across the floor towards Velvet's pod. Alice retrieved her weapon and watched as Coco turned and crawled towards the camera with all of her strength, reaching up and adjusting her glasses once more. Alice kicked her in the side. Coco fell onto her chest, her fingers barely out of reach of the camera. She struggled to prop herself up again, and Alice put a foot in her ribs once more, Coco cringed and seethed at the pain. She looked up at Alice.

"Why don't you kill me already?" Coco asked. Alice leaned down, grabbing her by the jaw.

"I always wondered how other people felt when they had total power over others, circling like a hawk and waiting for the proper moment to kill their prey. Take Jade for example, she doesn't intend to allow any of us to live, and all she would have to do is inject us with her poison and she could simply have us kill ourselves. She doesn't need us, she hasn't needed any of us in a long time really which raises the question, why wouldn't she just get rid of us?" Alice let go of Coco's jaw, placing her foot on the back of Coco's head and keeping it against the ground. "And now I know, you've shown me what it is."

"What's that?" Coco asked struggling to move.

"It's the feeling that she holds all of our lives in the balance. That she can just end us whenever she sees fit. The idea and sheer gravity of such a thought is more than anyone would be able to comprehend, even I'm not sure how to process it at the moment. The fact that I know in my soul that I can kill you now… or I could wait and let your fear fuel my feeling of power. And so, I should thank you for a second time. After I've killed you here I'll take this illusion of strength up to the main floor and give Jade-" Coco rolled quickly, the flash from Velvet's camera blinding Alice for a moment and she stumbled back. She made herself invisible again and sauntered over to Coco for the last time as the girl stared around blankly for her.

Alice swung her axe over her head as her legs were taken out from under her, she lost her grip on her weapon and it landed behind Coco, sliding across the room as she landed on her back. Alice arched in pain, her aura breaking as her injury from before to her ankle assisted in weakening it. Her axe had caught her on her fall from the catwalk with Coco, which is where the blood had come from. She lay there for a moment, her ears ringing as she tried to process what had happened. Coco found her feet first, smirking as she hobbled to Alice who began to panic. She noted the replica of her axe in Coco's hands.

"Impossible!" Alice yelled. She managed to prop herself up onto her elbows, but Coco placed her foot on her chest, holding her down. "How did you figure out where I was?"

"When we fell, you had bled on the ground, stepping in it. When I couldn't find you but noticed your trail of footprints, I realized then that you weren't teleporting, you were only invisible. What you didn't know, however, is that these are digital lenses that were designed with battle in mind, and no matter how invisible you are, you still give off heat, which allows me to see you with an infrared filter." She ground her boot against Alice's chest, causing the blonde to scream in pain. "And then you decided to start talking."

"None of this matters!" Alice screamed. "You're too late anyways!" Coco quickly swung back and held the axe above her head. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Forgive me Velv." Coco pulled the axe through the air quickly, decapitating Alice. Coco's body swayed as she stumbled towards the pod. She wedged the axe blade in and pried it open, the axe disappearing as the seal broke. Coco focused on Velvet's feet, wrapping her arms around her bunny and crying into her chest. "I did it. I found you."

* * *

Next week - Chapter 31 - Bonds!

Lastly I'd like to thank everyone who has joined me for this story, the ending is approaching rather quickly, but fret not! In the coming weeks I'll be giving out details on the next story I have underway with OrganoidZero!

Weekly reminder, a huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	35. Chapter 31 - Bonds

"Jade!" yelled Weiss as she slammed on the door to the training room, but she did not receive an immediate answer. Weiss swung her sword upward, summoning an Ursa. It growled and she pointed at the door. The Ursa slammed against the entryway, denting it as Weiss summoned another , directing it to do the same. The tag team effort was more than enough and the doors were destroyed, allowing Weiss to enter. Jade and the twins watched her approach them, the twins both confused at Weiss's sudden rage. "Jade, don't tell me that you have no idea what's going on, because nothing goes on around here without your knowledge!"

"I'm not completely sure that I follow Ms. Schnee, what seems to be the problem?" Jade asked her. Ivory looked at Weiss and she looked furious. She glanced over at her brother, who didn't seem to react in any way to the current situation, and Ivory made an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"What's going on Ms. Schnee?" Ivory asked. Her question only further frustrated Weiss. Weiss had welcomed Ivory using her first name, but Ivory knew better than to do so in front of Jade. Weiss turned back towards the exit, walking away from them.

"I'll find out myself if you're not going to tell me," Weiss sneered. Jade ran after her, passing her and blocking her path.

"What is the problem?" Jade asked again. Weiss folded her arms across her chest, pointing her nose in the air and looking away from Jade.

"I knew that something was off this morning when I first woke up. Dorian wasn't there to greet me and the twins and I weren't able to find him anywhere. Now there has been a security breach in the elevator and there's a handful of Dust knights standing in the hall, trying to get the elevator to come back up the shaft, but it sounds as though the car itself has had some sort of detrimental error and has crashed to the bottom of the building. As I was heading up the stairs I received a notification on my scroll that there was also an alarm activated in Alice's rabbit debriefing room," Weiss explained to her. Jade's face became red and she spun back towards her students.

"Why didn't either of you mention that Dorian was gone this morning?!" She asked them.

"We didn't think it mattered," Ivory replied. Rowan shrugged.

"You never seemed to like him anyways," Rowan answered. Jade shook with rage, fuming as she made her way to the door with Weiss on her heels.

"I'd like to come with if that's alright," Weiss told Jade. Jade shook her head, moving to the stairs and opening the door, quickly descending with Weiss and the twins following.

"I can't allow that Ms. Schnee. If it turns out to be Nightshade it puts your life at risk and the contract that I made with you at the time of hire strictly prohibits me from ever placing you in the way of harm," Jade explained. "I would recommend that you return to your office, and allow the twins to protect you until this whole thing blows over. Please." Jade stopped and looked at her, a pleading look on her face and Weiss restrained herself, sighing.

"Fine," Weiss replied. She stopped with the twins at the main floor and they exited the stairwell, taking Weiss back to her office and allowing her to sit down at her desk. Weiss took her seat and looked up at the Alettas as they stood watching her. "There's something more going on here, isn't there?"

"No Ms. Schnee. We've been instructed to protect you and with a breach in security, your life is more in danger than ever," Rowan explained. He stepped out into the hallway and made his way to the main doors to ensure that they had been locked down. Weiss stared at Ivory who looked uncomfortable.

"Ivory?" She asked. Ivory made eye contact before looking away quickly, swallowing hard and staring out into the hallway. Ivory's scroll rang and she removed it from her pocket, answering the call.

"Yes Jade. Okay. No, just a moment," Ivory replied to Jade, Weiss was only able to hear one side of the conversation. Ivory looked at Weiss, bowing her head slightly. "I'll be in the hallway for a moment. Please stay here Weiss." Weiss stood up from her chair to protest, but Ivory stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. Weiss activated her scroll on the desk and loaded the security feed, curious as to what was going on in Alice's hallway-

 _Rose petals…_

* * *

"Come on Ruby! Our best option is to get in the room and try to keep them out!" Yang shouted as she fired into the never ending mass of bunnies. She glanced at Blake who was opening the door with Dorian's help. "They sure multiply like rabbits, don't they hun?" Blake grunted as they swung the mirror open.

"Not now Yang!" Blake yelled at her. She glanced to Ruby who fired shots into the horde. "Can you do anything that might buy us a few seconds Ruby!?"

"On it!" Ruby replied. She used her semblance to speed through the mob, spiraling at an incredible rate, the air around her forming a vortex and dragging every rabbit to the far end of the room. She stopped on a dime as the hares piled up near the door around her and she used Crescent Rose to fire herself back down the hall and into Alice's office. "Close it!"

"Right!" Yang replied. She shoved the door shut with help from Ruby and they sat against it for a moment to catch their breath. "Well... that was a thing."

"I wish we could say it was over," Dorian told them as he looked around the room in confusion.

"What's wrong?" asked Blake.

"There was a desk here before. We could have used it to block the door, but it appears as though that's not an option at this point," he explained. Yang leapt to her feet, smiling and flexing her muscles.

"I can handle it for a while. You could say I have an arm up on the competition," Yang told them cheesing a smile. Blake's hand covered her face.

"It's leg Yang. Normally you say that I have a _leg_ up on the competition," Blake explained. Yang shrugged and they opened the wall, revealing Coco who was holding Velvet's bottom half, she was still attached to some sort of device in the middle of the room. They ran in to greet her, coming to a halt as they saw Velvet. Ruby covered her mouth and Blake looked away. Dorian brushed past both of them to Coco.

"Are you alright?" Dorian asked. Coco nodded weakly, still clinging to Velvet as Dorian looked her over. Velvet's face was bruised and her skin was patchy from all of the skin grafts that they had taken to make her clones, leaving her face looking as though someone had rubbed sandpaper against it for hours on end. Her left eye was swollen shut and one of her rabbit ears had a large scar running down the middle of it. He looked back down at Coco. "I… Coco, I'm…" Coco slowly released Velvet and continued to look at the ground.

"Coco," Velvet managed weakly. Coco began to laugh which evolved into sobbing as she stood there motionless, her arms hanging limp and her head hung low as she cried unashamed. "You found me. I… I must look awful." Coco continued to cry, it was all that she could do. Blake moved to them slowly, Ruby still fixed in place from shock. "I hoped you wouldn't see me like this." Coco gritted her teeth, grabbing her glasses and snapping them in half, and tossing them across the room. She looked up at Velvet and reached up, stroking her cheek.

"You're just as beautiful as I remember honey bun!" Coco exclaimed, choking on the words and sniffing hard, gagging from her mental state of exhaustion. "Blake, can you help me get her down?" Blake looked at Coco and then back up at Velvet, the emotion overwhelmed her also. Coco had done it. She had sworn all along that she would get to Velvet, and here they were.

"Okay," Blake told her. She unstrapped Velvet with the help of Dorian and they lifted her slowly, setting her in Coco's arms, Coco's legs shaking from her weakened post-battle state. She slowly moved to the floor as far as she could, a cable was still attached to Velvet's back from the pod. She noted how light she was. "What now? Can we disconnect her?"

"I'm not familiar with this equipment. No one but Alice knew that Velvet was being kept here, but if I had to guess, I'm willing to bet that the cable is keeping her alive," he told them.

"So how do we get her out then?" Ruby asked, finally able to contribute as the trauma of the situation wore off.

"We'll have to move the pod as well," Dorian stated. Coco ignored what they said, everything faded and though she couldn't see, she pictured Velvet in her arms, smiling up at her. This was what her entire life was about, since the day she had rescued her from the Beowolf in the Emerald Forest during their initiation, and the first time she had seen those adorable ears. Coco knew at that moment, that she wanted to be with this bunny in the worst way. She pulled Velvet closer to her body.

"I've got you honey bun. I've got you." She whispered, holding her tight.

"Guys! We have a problem!" Yang shouted. The door rattled as she pushed hard against it, her mechanical arm trying to compensate for the pressure. "I'm gonna be pretty useless if they try too much harder to get in. My servos will give out if I over work them and I'll be down to one arm until we get back to the bunker!" They all looked at Dorian.

"Is there another way out?" Blake asked.

"No, not to my knowledge," he informed her.

"We can't fight through all of the rabbits," Ruby exclaimed. Velvet stirred slightly.

"Rabbits?" She asked. Coco nodded.

"Yeah. There's a bunch of White Rabbits waiting outside of the room to kill us," Coco told her. Velvet whimpered subtly, her head moving ever so slightly to look at Coco's face.

"They're all feeding off of my aura," Velvet told her. "If you disconnect me… If you disconnect me they'll all die." Coco's eyes widened and tears filled her eyes again.

"Does that mean…?" Coco managed. Velvet coughed weakly.

"Mmm…" The room had grown silent aside from the banging on the door in the next room over and all of their eyes were fixed on Coco. She looked around despite not being able to see them, her eyes pleading.

"Blake, Ruby… I…"

"No one's expecting you to," Blake replied. Coco faced towards Velvet again and shook her head, her tears dropping from her face and landing on Velvet. "We can find a different way out."

"I won't leave you Velv. I'm going to save you!" Velvet lifted her head weakly, her lips brushing Coco's.

"You already have." Silence filled the room as emotion sent tremors through Coco. "From the Beowolf, from Cardin, during the fall of Beacon, you saved me everyday Coco. The reason that I'm still alive now is that I thought of you every day, and I knew you'd get to me."

"Velv… Velv I…"

"Just this once… let me save you." Coco's heart broke as Velvet said the words and her arm moved to Velvet's back.

"I should have asked you before Velv." Coco's lips trembled, Velvet's weak yet hot breath graced her face and she held her tighter. "Will you marry me?" Ruby gasped, the events that unfolded gripped everyone in the room.

"Of course." Coco gently kissed Velvet's lips as she felt the cord, gripping it with a tremoring hand and pulling it out. She held her lips to Velvet's as the breath left her body, lingering as long as she could until Velvet was completely limp. She pulled away slowly, her body broken, clinging to Velvet. Blake moved to Coco and wrapped her arms around Coco from behind.

"Coco…" Coco began bawling as Blake held her tight. "This is all my fault…"

"No," Coco managed. She slipped Blake's arms off of her and slowly stood.

" _Velvet, I don't trust this one." Coco stared the woman down, who didn't seem to mind._

" _Wait, Coco. Maybe they're here to help. They don't look like these other men." Velvet stated. Coco muttered something and turned back towards the collapsing wall._

"This is Jade's fault. We don't know what her final plan is, but all of this is on her," Coco told them.

"Here's what I'm thinking for clearing a path when security shows up," Yang offered as she opened the wall and let them back into the office. "Blake, you told me that Ruby's eyes can amplify the semblances of other people, right?" Blake held Coco's arm, guiding her into the office with them. Ruby gasped, jumping up and down in place, excitement gripping her.

"Ruby, what is it?" Blake asked.

"That's it! That's how we can fix everything!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What is?" Coco asked.

"Dorian, you told us last night that your watch allows you to alter time and what not, right?" Ruby asked. Blake looked at him.

"That's right, you did mention that last night," Blake stated recalling the conversation. He nodded.

"Yeah." He answered sheepishly. Coco caught on quickly.

"If Ruby uses her powers to amplify his, she can go back and keep all of this from ever happening!" Coco shouted at them. They all looked at each other.

"Wait just a minute." Dorian protested. "In theory, great plan. However, the last time that I went back even 12 hours I ended up with cuts and lacerations all over my body and blacked out the instant I arrived. There's no guarantee that either myself or Ruby would even survive that."

"It's worth a try." Yang agreed. "You would pass out before you'd die, wouldn't you?" Dorian rubbed his face, pulling at his collar, it felt restricting as the idea began to sank in. If it worked, this whole crisis could be avoided. If not they'd have time to figure out a different plan… Or he might die. He looked at Ruby who gave him a pleading look and Weiss's face filled his mind. _She just wanted me to be happy no matter what I chose to do. That's why I loved her so much! She made me feel wanted for the first time in my life._ Wasn't that all that Dorian wanted? For Weiss to be happy?

"Let's do it then," he said reluctantly to Ruby but giving her a smile. She threw her arms around him, still jumping up and down.

"Thank you!" She squealed. _This is Weiss's best shot at happiness,_ he thought. _We have to try._ The door slowly began to open and the team prepared to face the assailants.

"Get ready!" Ruby declared. As it opened completely, Ruby dropped Crescent Rose on the floor.

"Weiss?"

* * *

Jade made her way back up the stairs, everything was in order below in the hangar. The only thing she had left to do was to get rid of Weiss and make sure that the twins would be available to her if anything went wrong with her plan. She threw open the door for the main floor and quickly made her way to Weiss's office to find that she was gone. Jade gritted her teeth together as she stepped back into the hallway and spotted Ivory and Rowan at the end, making their way towards her.

"What's going on?" Jade asked as she reached them.

"I went to ensure that the building had been locked down and Ivory says that she stepped out of the room when you called her. Weiss must have escaped then," Rowan explained to her. Jade formed daggers in her hands and made a swift movement forward, one of her blades finding Rowan's chest and the other missing as he bent back, catching her arm and throwing her back. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Jade pointed past Rowan at Ivory who was being reserved. Her hand was behind her back, prepared to grab her bow if need be.

"It was you! After everything that I've done for you Ivory, you've betrayed me?!" Jade asked. She moved to sprint past Rowan but Rowan grabbed her arm and swung her out of the way, planting her in the wall. "Both of you!?"

"This was never part of the plan Jade. You told us that our mission was to protect Weiss, and that's what I was doing," Ivory explained. Jade struggled, breaking free of Rowan and stepping back.

"You too?" She asked Rowan. Rowan shook his head.

"As much as I really don't have a reason to follow you anymore, I'm going to see this through to the end," Rowan explained to Jade. "I will ensure Salem's return." Jade brushed herself off and dissipated the dagger in his chest. Rowan turned back to his sister.

"As for you, you have a new mission!" Jade declared. Ivory trembled slightly, knowing what was coming next. "You're going to kill Weiss Schnee." There was a silence and Ivory looked at her brother, her eyes pleading. He shook his head and began to walk past Jade towards the stairs. In one flap of her wings, Ivory reached Rowan and she grabbed his arm. Jade broke in between the two of them and slapped Ivory, sending her sprawling to the floor, Rowan watching as she fell before turning his gaze to Jade. "You ungrateful brat! Everything that I did, I did for the two of you! I could have left you two there with the Atlesian Army that day, and Salem knows what they would have done to you when they took you back to Atlas!"

"You only saved us because you wanted to use us!" Ivory yelled back. Jade formed a pike of glass around her hand and dove for Ivory, only to be snatched out of the air by Rowan, who held her arms behind her, looking down at his sister.

"Rowan!" Jade yelled. He held her arms tight and pulled her back to her feet. She could feel his breath, hot on her ear.

"I will kill Weiss," Rowan told her. Ivory's eyes filled with tears. She had to stop them! "But I will not let you hurt my sister." Ivory gasped. As long as they had been with Jade, Rowan had never expressed his love for her so much as watching out for her in the heat of battle. What he just told Jade however, was as sweet to Ivory's ears as him saying that he loved her, something he hadn't done since their parents had been killed. Rowan grabbed her by the neck from behind, lifting her above his head. She struggled for a moment in his grip. "Now let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we?"

Jade shook her head back and forth weakly as her body turned to glass, shattering under his choke hold. She dropped to the floor in front of the clone, quickly throwing herself back into his arms and kissing him. Ivory slid away from the two of them, Jade wasn't going to leave Rowan a choice. She stood up, helping him regain his balance and smiling back over her shoulder at Ivory.

"Oh Ivory, you had to know that I wasn't going to let you get away with this nonsense," Jade told her. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to get ahold of Joseph and get him down to the bottom floor." Jade left the two of them, reaching the end of the hall before turning back for a moment. "Oh Rowan, kill Ivory for me, would you dear?" With that she strutted back for the stairs. Ivory looked up at her brother, standing slowly as the venom throbbed through his veins for a moment, his face blank. He slowly unhooked his chain.

"Rowan… Don't do this…" Ivory protested. The fire slowly ignited in his eyes, but this time it was different. He wasn't in there, only Jade's venom. There would be no talking him out of this one.

"I have to do what Jade says. She's done more for us than anyone, I can't let you stand in the way of what she wants," He told her. They stood for a long moment, staring each other down as they both waited for the other to make a move. Ivory shot off down the hallway in the direction Jade had ran, Rowan's hook narrowly missing her left wing as she drew her wings in, knowing how he'd attack. She spun around, wasting no time and removed her bow, firing three ice arrows at once. He managed to bat two of them away but the third hit its mark and exploded on impact. She refused to kill him, but she planned to avoid causing him pain unless necessary. She fired a fire and water arrow as she reached the far end of the hall, landing. They exploded early, creating a cloud of steam and she reached back, firing two gravity arrows in a row. He emerged from the cloud, knocking the first arrow away with his hook as he flew through the air. The second, however, whizzed past, exploding and throwing him against the wall.

He tumbled to the ground, leaping back up and sprinting towards her. Her best bet was to keep her distance, she knew that he could take her with little to no problem in close combat. She hesitated, remembering that Jade was probably still on her way to eliminate Weiss. Ivory transformed the bow to its axe form and caught the first hook from her brother, twisting the chain around her staff and pulling him in. She leapt, flapping her wings, and kicked him in the chest as he came in close. He threw his other hook, grappling the other end of her axe and pulling her back in. He pulled one side back, and rammed the staff into her chest, slamming her against the wall. She grunted and reached out, trying to reach the unlock mechanism to transform it back into a bow.

Her arms didn't quite reach, and he kept her pinned there.

"Rowan, we don't have to do this…" She managed as she struggled against her staff. Flames slowly crept across his body, making their way down his chain and crawling across her staff towards her. She let go of the staff, letting it pin her to the wall again and reached back, grabbing several arrows. She glanced back at them, noting that they were tipped with gravity Dust.

"I have to kill Weiss! It's the only way that we can ensure Salem's safety returning and in turn solidify Jade's plans!" He seethed. She took the hand full of arrows and threw them at her brother, knowing that he'd flap his wings, throwing them back at her. They slammed into the wall, the force of the explosion throwing Ivory towards Rowan and freeing her. She reached forward, swinging to her right and carried Rowan with her momentum, slamming him into the wall. She leapt, grabbing tight to her staff and trying to fly away. He pulled her back in and she slammed her feet into his chest, planting herself firmly and giving one great try with her wings. She shot off of him, the chain breaking as she screamed down the hall, opening her wings to stop before she reached the elevator's intersection.

"I'm going to protect her Rowan. She was our mission," Ivory called back, she could feel the growing heat from the rage that was boiling inside of him. "She's my friend." Ivory ran down the side passage, her brother quickly behind her as she fired gravity arrows, smashing the doors open to the elevator shaft. She flew in and dropped, extending her staff and creating an obstruction in the center of the shaft. Rowan sharply turned, flying downward and into Ivory's trap and she swung herself from the staff, her feet planting into his chin and launching him upward. She freed her axe by forming her bow again and flew up after her brother, firing an earth arrow and striking his wings. It threw his course off and he smashed into the wall, bouncing off the opposite one as well, before his sister reached him and kicked him through the door for the second floor.

He sprawled across the floor as she landed and he blocked several swipes from her staff, planting one of his hooks into her shoulder and pulling her down as she cried out in pain, kneeing her in the jaw. She stumbled back, using her wings to stop her from dropping back into the shaft.

"Why would you fight in a battle that you know you can't win?" Rowan asked her. "You might have strategy on your side, but my semblance paired with my tenacity are far more than you could possibly ever handle. Not to mention this necklace also gives me the upper hand. You're purely out matched, and if you continue to defend Weiss, you'll die with her."

"I don't care if I die with her!" Ivory shouted. "Weiss is the only one around here who is approachable and real. I've felt so lonely around all of you, but when we're protecting Weiss, I don't feel alone. I feel like she's part of me, and that I'm protecting something that matters!" Ivory flew towards her brother, he held his hook behind him, ready to strike as she arrived. She stopped short, blocking his blow with her wing and throwing him back with it, but he quickly flew back, both hooks plunging into her shoulders. He dragged her across the floor and held her there in the elevator shaft.

* * *

Jade lay in the stairwell, several feet from the door to the hanger as she waited for Joseph to arrive. She had let her anger get the better of her, and had formed both a glass pike and glass clone, which had drained her completely of all physical energy. She had maintained composure until she had reached the stairs and as soon as she closed the door behind her, she had fallen to her chest, slowly making her way down the stairs, struggling to stand. Why would she overdo it at such a pivotal moment in her plan? It was too late now to ponder such things, all that she could do now was lay there until Joseph found her. She heard the door open above her and she glanced up, straining to at least sit up on her own.

"Jade?!" He called out as he spotted her.

"Yes it's me. Hurry already!" She demanded. He leapt over the banister, landing on the bottom as the earth Dust wore off, taking the brunt of the force. He picked her up in his arms and threw the door open, carrying her out into the hangar. It had been completely emptied, everything had been moved to the base of the mountain, preparing to overrun Vale and Beacon as their first objectives under their new ruler. The only thing that remained was the aura transferring device, a small table had been set up in front of it, and on that table was a vial of the Dust liquid that would give Jade the power to summon Salem. He laid her in the pod for a moment so that she could catch her breath.

"Did you check the feed for Alice's office like I asked?" Jade inquired of Joseph as her chest heaved. Perhaps she had used too much energy. It took everything that she had to keep from blacking out at the moment, and her entire body felt as though it was on fire. "What's going on down there?"

"Alice is dead, Coco killed her," Joseph told her as he tried to get her to drink some water. She squirmed, refusing it and he stepped away, placing it back on the table and standing before her with his arms crossed. "They've also got a relatively solid plan for stopping you."

"What?!" Jade demanded as she pushed herself up in the pod. She stood before him, legs shaking as she willed herself to stay standing. "What do you mean? Qrow is the only one that had the information and he's-"

"They don't know completely what's going on, but they've formed a plan to bring back everyone that we've taken from them. They plan on using Ruby's eyes to amplify Dorian's powers and go back to the past, before any of this happened," Joseph exclaimed. Jade stumbled to the table and used it to support her weight, her veins bulging in her neck.

"Dorian?! That son of a bitch! I should have molested him in that elevator and left him for dead!" Jade gasped as she screeched the words. She stood, walking to Joseph slowly before grabbing his arm, shoving him back. He took notice of her and pulled away, the crazed look in her eyes created a fear in him that he had only known once before when his mother had died. "Joseph, it's time to use that Grimm blood. They'll try and escape through Alice's lab. Meet them when they round the base of the mountain and make sure that Dorian doesn't live."

"What about you?" Joseph asked. "You can barely stand, are you going to have enough power to summon her?" Jade chuckled.

"Don't worry about me. Now go! Time is of the essence, figuratively and literally!" Joseph left and Jade found herself completely alone. _Alice is dead,_ Jade thought, _and she probably died wearing that tacky lab coat._ She reached across the table, her strength starting to return slightly as she grabbed the vial in her hand and picked up one of the needles in front of her. Alice had told her that morning that there was a small chance that it wouldn't work, and if they could give her a few more days, she could make sure that the success rate was at least 99 percent. Alice was dead though and Jade wouldn't have had the luxury of waiting any longer anyways. She injected the Dust into her blood and sat on the edge of the table for a moment, waiting for it to take effect.

Everything that she had done since the moment that Salem had found her had brought her to this point. Finding the twins. Hiring Alice and Joseph. Breaking into Atlas Academy. Dorian was a nuisance, but he wasn't more than they could handle, and so she let them drag him along for a while. She remembered the day that Beacon fell, a decoy attack that would keep RWBY and Qrow off of her trail so that she could act without anyone's knowledge of their plan. When Ozpin sacrificed himself and the Maidens' powers had been wasted on Cinder, it was almost too good to be true. Only one person could stand in her way at this point, and they had Ruby in their grasp once more. She stood up from the table and raised her hand above her head.

"Time to return to us Salem!" Jade called out. A black smoke rolled off of the tips of Jade's finger and poured over the ground, Salem's emblem, the large red eye, slowly formed, growing larger and larger as more smoke poured from Jade's body. It started dragging her forward across the ground towards it and she planted her feet, trying to stop herself from moving. She caught the pod door with her hand and gripped it tight as she continued to summon her master. Jade's body shook as she could feel her aura draining. _What's happening?_

Blood began to drip from the ceiling and land in the middle of the summoning glyph, filling it until there was a substantially deep pool. Jade fell to the ground, the strength that she had regained was being leached out of her in order to bring Salem back. She tried to stop it, but the summon was acting on its own now and slowly syphoning her aura. _It wasn't supposed to happen like this!_ Jade was confounded as she struggled to hold on to what was left. This wasn't what she had been promised! She had been promised great power! Without warning Jade fell onto her face, the energy had stopped being drained from the air.

Jade rolled onto her back, propped up on her elbows, watching as the blood met in the middle of the pool and slowly began to form Salem, whose hand was extended, pointing towards Jade. Jade knew in that moment that her life would be over in a few minutes and that this was Salem's plan all along.

"Do not be afraid child. You have done well," Salem told to her, her voice calm and soothing as her shape became more solid and the blood slowly dripped off of her. She took a step forward through the puddle, the liquid absorbing into her as she walked towards Jade who struggled to get away. She formed a glass dagger and threw it at Salem, who caught it inches from her face. "Why are you acting like this Jade? After everything that I've done for you. With all of the work that we still have yet to do."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" Jade yelled at Salem, scrambling away, but backing into the pod nearest to her. She arched her back in pain, sitting up in a straight and rigid position as Salem came closer. "You promised me power!"

"And you will have your power child," Salem told her. She knelt in front of Jade, their faces were but inches apart. "Now. Kiss me like you would any of your other victims. I want to make this as enjoyable for you as possible." Jade tried to resist, but Salem forced it on Jade. Jade panicked at first before giving in, a wave of calm swept over her. Salem disappeared slowly in front of her as she maintained the kiss, her cloak collapsing to the ground. Jade sat there on the floor for a moment, she breathed slowly as she found her feet. Was Salem gone? Was she going to allow Jade to retain control after-?

"Agh… No!" Jade's body slammed into the pod beside her, stumbling for the table. She watched as the red veins ran up her arms, her skin slowly losing pigment.

* * *

"Weiss?" Weiss's jaw remained slacked as she reached out slowly towards Ruby. _Am I awake, or am I still asleep?_ Ruby ran to her and stopped just in front of her, grabbing Weiss's hand and placing it on her face.

"Ruby." Her mind flooded with memories of them together at Beacon, recounting their time together after defeating Cinder, flashes of horror and pain from the wedding and the months afterward. Weiss's entire life presented itself back to her and ended in this surreal moment, where Ruby stood before her and smiled at her as she always had. What had Weiss done? Emotion hit her like a train and she collapsed into Ruby's arms. "Ruby I… I was so lost without you." She lost her nerve and the tears fell freely now as she wept into Ruby's chest. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Weiss. We all know that it wasn't you and that you were just doing the best you could," Ruby told her. Weiss looked around the room at Coco, Blake, Dorian, and Yang.

"Blake… If only I had listened to you, I could have avoided hurting everyone the way I did," Weiss gasped. She couldn't handle the gravity of the situation and the grief of all the poor decisions she had made in the last several years was suffocating her.

"What's done is done, Weiss. Now, we have to fix it," Blake told her.

"How?" Weiss pleaded.

"We have a crazy idea. It involves time travel," Yang explained. Weiss looked at Dorian and chuckled, holding back more tears.

"You too?" Weiss asked.

"Anything for you Weiss," he told her. "It's a long shot, but it's the best chance we have to fix everything." Weiss looked at Coco, realizing that she couldn't see her.

"Coco." Weiss trembled as she approached her. "I saw it on the security feed on my way down. Coco, I didn't know that they were going to keep Velvet here. My agreement with Alice was that she let her leave when she was done cloning her." Coco's face didn't change, her jaw was set and she looked annoyed.

"You should never have taken her in the first place," Coco told her. "But I think we all know now how blinding rage can be in the heat of battle."

"It'd be great to stay here and chat a while longer ladies, but soon all of Rose Petals is going to be coming to get rid of us, and we need to at least get out of the mountain before that happens," Yang told them. Weiss looked back at Ruby who nodded at her and she smiled sheepishly. How could Ruby still be positive, after everything?

"I'll stay here," Coco told them as they began heading out into the hallway that was littered with rabbits that were slowly dissolving into ash.

"Coco, don't be ridiculous, they'll kill you," Weiss exclaimed. Coco smirked, taking her hat off and throwing it across the room at nothing in particular. She mussed her hair up and turned back towards the wall to enter back into the room with Velvet.

"I have faith in Ruby. If I go with it's only going to slow you down." Coco told them. She pushed the wall open and faced back towards them. "Hey Red?"

"Yeah, Coco?" Ruby asked.

"When you get back to the past, tell me what I need to hear to work up the courage to propose to Velv, would you?" Coco asked. She smiled as fresh tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"I will," Ruby told her. "You can count on it!" Ruby moved to Coco, embracing her before leading her back into the room to Velvet.

"Thanks, Red," Coco said. She drew Velvet close and sat on the ground, waiting for the end.

"Come on! We need to get going!" Yang called from out in the hallway. Ruby rejoined them in the office and headed out past them.

"We aren't seriously going to leave Coco, are we?" Weiss asked as she left the room. Blake smirked as she headed out with them.

"I've made enough decisions with her and for her. I think she deserves to make one on her own for once," Blake stated. As they reached the end of the hall, Yang leapt through the elevator car and smashed open the doors on the other side.

"How cliché," Yang stated as she pushed the doors out of the way as they followed her. "A secret lab."

"Team RWBY is back in action!" Ruby declared.

"She really is a perpetual optimist, isn't she?" Blake asked.

"It's one of her more… endearing qualities," Weiss offered laughing. Dorian watched the girls from the back of the group as they made their way through the lab. He didn't quite understand how after facing such horror and tragedy, they could all be back to normal like they were now. He shrugged it off, he would probably never figure it out. "Shouldn't we just try this whole time travel thing here?"

"We could," Ruby offered despite the fact that they kept following Yang.

"I don't think that's the best idea. They'll come for us soon, and if they interfere during the actual time travel, who knows what might happen," Blake told them. "Our best bet is to get them both back to the bunker and try it from Neo's panic room."

"Neo's panic room?" Weiss inquired.

"It's a room that only Neo can get into," Ruby explained. They made it out of the lab with no resistance and exited out of the tunnel, facing a small cabin. Yang held up her hand, motioning for them to stop.

"Quiet… Hear that?" She asked. A group of Dust knights marched around from the side of the cabin to greet them. They maintained their ranks, all 15 of them coming to a stop in front of the group, three rows of five. The knights raised their weapons and the one standing in the middle of the front row took a step forward.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Under the orders of General Joseph Arc we are to eliminate the four of you immediately," it informed them.

"That ram Faunus has the same last name as Jaune?" Yang asked.

"This is bad," Weiss told them.

"What about me?" Dorian asked.

"There's too many," Blake said.

"What if I use my eyes?" Ruby asked.

"Too risky. Plus you'll need to use them later when we get back to the bunker and we need them at full strength," Blake told her.

"What do we do then?" Yang asked.

"Prepare to be eliminated," the knight declared. He fell back into his row and they readied their weapons. "Ready… Aim… Fire!"

* * *

Team RWBY has been reunited, but as the saying goes, "Great, the gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Next week: Chapter 32 - Hell Breaks Loose!

Just a quick note for anyone who is reading this. As I mentioned before and at the very beginning, this story was finished before we even started uploads, and with that, I'm proud to say that once this one ends, we will begin uploading our new OC heavy story that takes place around 18 years after the events of the Fall of Beacon titled, "The Beacon Stories: Team NITE". If you enjoyed Nightshade, or the idea of an OC heavy story appeals to you, please follow me as an author so you'll be informed when the new story begins. Thanks again!

Weekly reminder, huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is now available on Archive Of Our Own! If you haven't heard of AO3 I recommend you try it out!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	36. Chapter 32 - Hell Breaks Loose

Ivory kicked her feet, flapping her wings wildly in an attempt to escape from her brother, but the hooks were deep, and he was far too strong for her to break free, not to mention the excruciating pain that she now found herself in as she dangled there. She looked up at her brother, the poison still affecting his mind as he plotted his next move.

"Rowan… Stop this!" She demanded trying to stay strong. Rowan looked down at her, his face lost to the adrenaline and fog that Jade had incited in him. He didn't care right now about anyone. He only cared that he found something that might satiate his bloodlust. He slammed her against the wall of the vertical tunnel, panic setting in as she realized that her aura was close to its limit. She reached back and removed a lightning arrow, firing it into the air and blinding her brother before he could react. He reached up with one of his hands, covering his eyes out of instinct and she flapped her wings again, his grip slipping and she managed to free herself, flying back into the second-floor hallway and right towards the training room. She spun her body, preparing to kick the door but instead landing and sliding in, forgetting that Weiss's Ursai had earlier taken care of the entryway.

She turned in time to spot Rowan and she planted her axe as he flew by overhead, grabbing the hooks. They tore out of her skin and she collapsed to the ground instantly in pain. She only needed to do as Jade instructed and imagine that Rowan was attacking their parents. She couldn't do it though, no matter how hard she tried, she knew that it was Rowan that she was fighting and he would never have done anything to hurt their parents. She watched as he circled back around and covered herself with her wings, trying to buy herself some time. His hooks glanced off, faster and faster until she was convinced that he might break through. She needed to get to Weiss, but it didn't matter now, did it? If it wasn't Rowan, it would be Joseph. Or Jade. Or Salem. There was no chance from the beginning that she'd be able to save Weiss. But she had to try, and now was the time to act.

She threw her wings open but he had already expected she would try that, and he brought his hooks up under her wings. _What is he doing?_ She struggled in his grip but he held onto her, his eyes becoming wilder and his body burning brighter, nearing the level it had when he had faced Ruby. She pulled against him, but she knew he outmatched her in strength and he placed his foot in her back, pulling with everything he had. Surely he didn't mean to… Something snapped and she cried out in pain, her aura was going to give at any second.

"Rowan! No!" She screamed. He leapt, his other foot crashing against her back and he took off in flight, tearing off both of Ivory's wings. Ivory crumbled into a heap of unbearable pain as her aura shattered. She laid on the ground, unable to move. This was it. She was going to die at the hands of her brother. It was far from how she had ever imagined that she would go, but it was happening all the same. Perhaps if she had been stronger she might have made it. Perhaps if she hadn't cared about Weiss so much, she wouldn't be in this predicament. But it was too late to think about any of that.

"Any last words?" He asked. He loomed over her with his hooks in hand, his mouth snarled and distorted. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to move.

"None that matter," she managed. "Forgive me… Rowan. I only hope that I can forgive myself." He moved in close and she rolled over at the last moment, catching the hooks with her staff and reaching past, slamming the lightning arrow into his mouth. She had pulled it out of the quiver when she was covered by her wings during his relentless attack and kept it held close to her chest so that he wouldn't see. It exploded and electricity coursed through his body, dancing through his hooks and throwing him back from her. He lay, convulsing on the ground for a long moment before finally stopping, his body became motionless. She used her axe as a walking stick and made her way over to him, shakily bending down and snatching the fire Dust necklace from off of him. She threw it into the hallway and watched as it slid across the floor and out of sight into the elevator shaft. She sat down several feet from him, hoping that the poison would be worn off when he came to.

* * *

Salem looked down at her hands and body, admiring all that the girl had to offer her, and grateful that she had. She chuckled lightly as she sat on the table and looked at the two pods before her, shaking her head as she lifted her hands into the air. Giant glass crystals burst forth from the floor and destroyed the machine, entombing it. She stood up and made her way around the device, pulling unseen energy from out of the space in front of her, the hangar slowly filling with pools of blood that gave way to Grimm. She turned back slightly as the stairwell door opened and she smirked.

"All that wasted time trying to find me, and now I've finally made it back," Salem spoke. She grabbed the Beowulf that had crawled from the blood in front of her and her hand phased into the beast, pulling out a sword made of bone as it slipped back into the pit. "It's been a long time, hasn't it…? Raven?" Salem turned completely around to view Raven who stood in the door, her hand fixed on her sword that was sheathed. Salem laughed as she sized up her opponent, bone sword held in front of her. She swung it lightly to get a feel for it and attempted to pierce through Raven's stare, but Raven's eyes and face showed no indication of fear or anxiety. "Are you prepared to kill again? I think I can hear Jade's voice, still crying out in fear."

"You're the reason that I couldn't face my daughter for the majority of her life. When I left to hunt you down, Summer Rose stepped in as the mother I never was, and you forced me to slay her. It was bad enough I had to kill Summer to stop you the first time, but I continued searching for you, hoping that I could make it up to my daughter, and before I knew it, I had been gone for over 20 years. I missed her birthdays, playdates, her first crush, first kiss, heartbreak, everything… And all of it was because of you," Raven told her. The sheath clicked and whirred, stopping on wind Dust as she still remained motionless, staring Salem down. Salem's smile didn't crack, it remained there, a hollow and haunting reminder to Raven of what she had done.

"I'm flattered. If you'd like I can repay you, and spare your daughter when I reform Remnant. I plan to start the entire world over with a clean state, and there aren't very many that I'm taking with me. So you can leave and I can continue my plan as it is, or we can fight each other for a while and I'll continue my conquest with your sword in hand. It would be quite the upgrade from what I normally use. I'll leave it up to you really, but I'll warn you if you think that I'll be as easy to take down as last time, think again. There were no silver eyes to wear me out first this time." Salem warned her. They stared each other down, Grimm still crawling out of the earth and lumbering towards the edge of the hangar where they ran down the mountain. "The choice is all yours Raven."

"I choose to send you to hell again," Raven replied. Salem chuckled.

"That wasn't a choice." Raven removed her blade swiftly and cut through the air, the wind Dust slicing through the hangar and cutting down multiple Grimm. As it reached Salem a wall of glass formed in front of her, blocking it. She stepped out from around it and Raven was directly in front of her, swinging her sword down and clashing with Salem's. "Is that the best you can do?" Salem raised her free hand, throwing it above her head and then pointing at Raven. Glass pikes formed above Salem and targeted Raven, forcing Raven to leap back away from her opponent. Salem gave a laugh again as Raven blocked the projectiles flawlessly with her sword.

"I'm just getting started," Raven declared.

"Misplaced self-confidence," Salem replied shuddering with pleasure. "My favorite."

Salem ran out to meet Raven again, their swords crashing off of each other's in a blinding flurry, Salem's free hand forming a glass shield that Raven's blows glanced off of with tremendous speed. Both of them stood their ground, neither overpowered by the strength of the other. Raven quickly sheathed her weapon, changing the Dust to gravity and Salem made an attempt. Raven opened a portal between them quickly, Salem's attack landing on nothing in the empty void. Raven crushed the sword as the portal closed on it, causing Salem to stumble back, but she blocked Raven's sword with her shield. The gravity Dust smashed into her defense with extra force, cracking the glass, and sending a shockwave across the hangar. Several Grimm were thrown out of the bay door, down the mountainside. Salem reeled back around, her sword now made of glass. They crashed off of each other quickly.

Raven focused on the shield, concentrating her blows on it as Salem tried to keep her busy. The shield gave under the pressure, giving Raven an opening which she took, removing Salem's arm. Salem glanced up at her, an out of place smile on her mouth as a glass spear slammed through Raven's torso out of thin air and drove her into the wall. She sheathed her sword, grabbing the spear with both hands but struggling to remove it.

"It's in that wall pretty deep, or at least deep enough that you won't be getting it back out," Salem told her. Where Salem's arm had been removed, one of her glyphs appeared, a shadow hand breaking forth and forming glass Dust over the top of itself. Raven opened a portal behind herself and fell back into it, leaving Salem alone for a moment. Salem slowly made her way back towards the device, wanting to get a better look when Raven reappeared, throwing the spear at Salem. The spear shattered and drifted away as it reached Salem and she turned back towards Raven again. The sword disappeared in her hand and was replaced by a bow and arrow, which she fired in rapid succession. Raven blocked quickly as she reached Salem, swinging out to slice through her. Salem teleported behind her in an instant, the glass decoy in front of Raven crumbling to the ground.

Raven opened a portal behind Salem, throwing herself back into the woman and knocking her it. They both tumbled through and came out on the cliffside on the opposing side. Salem knocked Raven away from her with amazing strength and Raven landed on top of Summer Rose's grave. Salem charged for her, bringing a newly formed glass scythe down at Raven who rolled out of the way. She leapt to her feet and pulled out her katana, slicing through the air and blasting both of Salem's feet with ice Dust, freezing her hands to the weapon as well.

"I'm sorry, too soon? I think it would be apropos if I murdered you on her grave with her weapon. It's how you should have died the first time!" Salem yelled. Raven charged Salem, running her sword through her and Salem's body shattered, crashing to the ground as glass. Two glass daggers tore deep through Raven's skin, throwing her to the ground as she cringed in pain. She rolled in time to block the next attack, surprised by Salem's suddenly enhanced strength. Raven strained as she pushed back against Salem, bloodlust filling the pale woman's eyes. "Do you know how far you set me back when you sealed me away that day? You and Ozpin both, always getting in my way, only this time you have no silver eyed anyone to come running to your rescue. Do us both a favor and die!"

"Not before I make things right with Yang!" Raven yelled out. She pushed Salem away, letting herself drop through a portal and coming out on the other side in front of Salem. Raven sliced through Salem again, destroying another clone and sinking her blade into the ground. Ice Dust flew out from her, giving her a moment to change the blade's Dust to fire as she spun around, meeting Salem's sword. Salem was running through glass Dust faster than Raven could have imagined and she wondered if there was any limit to her power. Raven could feel the blood from Salem's attack trickling down her back.

"Feeling weak yet?" asked Salem.

"Not enough to lose to you!" Raven shouted out. She pushed Salem back with the help of a fire Dust explosion and Salem stumbled, coming to a stop a few feet away. She was instantly met with blows from Raven and she backed slowly away, hoping to wear Raven out.

"It's futile!" Salem declared. "You can't stop me and you won't stop me, so why do you even bother trying?" She asked. Raven guided Salem's sword towards her arm, allowing it to be scratched on the surface, seething slightly as she let Salem make another attempt, this one catching her in the side. Raven fell to the ground holding her side and Salem kicked her, sending her sprawling back. "So weak! I was really hoping for more of a challenge." Raven's mind raced as she closed her eyes.

There it was…

Raven opened her eyes and her hair lightly floated as she reached Salem without giving her opponent a moment to think. Raven crashed through Salem as her semblance exploded, quickly racing to the next Salem and smashing through that one as well. She turned quickly, her blade slicing through the next clone and shattering it the same as the last two. She quickly sheathed the sword, activating lightning Dust and removing it. Salem's sword made the first move, knocking hers out of the way, but she reached in, wrenching Salem's arm in the opposite direction, her free fist slamming into Salem's chest. She opened a portal behind Salem, grappling her and tackling her through. They tumbled out into Salem's dimension and Raven straddled her, landing several good punches to Salem's face before being impaled by a pike from behind. Raven rolled off, falling face first into the dirt before she disappeared into an explosion of black feathers.

Salem quickly found her feet, impressed by Raven's show of power, but chuckling softly to herself.

"Oh, Raven. Why would you bring me back here? I have more power here than in the real world, and it just doesn't make any sense. You know that since I now have an actual body, I can't be resealed in here until the body is killed. Such a foolish decision," Salem called out to her. Raven appeared behind her, quickly swinging for her, but a wall of crystals formed, trapping her sword. Raven released her katana, smashing the crystals apart with her fist and grabbing her weapon out of the air, making another attempt. Salem smirked as a wall of crystals separated them. "Thanks to Jade for contributing her life to the cause, I won't have any need to face you head on anymore."

"I won't give you that option!" Raven cried out. Salem turned quickly, Raven had used a portal to place herself on the same side of the wall as Salem. A giant Grimm hand burst forth from the earth, grabbing Raven and throwing her through the wall, her semblance breaking as she crashed through. _Dammit,_ she thought, _if only I could have held onto it for a little longer!_

"I'll guarantee that your body will not hold up as long or as well as mine," Salem told her. "Everything that you've done to this point in your pathetic existence was in vain, and I want you to know that as you die."

"I won't give up!" Raven cried out. Salem laughed.

"So be it." Salem reached out, green snakes made of aura leapt from her hands and converged on Raven. She sliced through them as they leapt for her, convinced to poison her. Salem sent wave after wave, which Raven either massacred or sent elsewhere via her portal abilities, but she felt herself becoming weak, she couldn't keep straining her body like this. Salem felt her lip, only now finally noting the blood that was dribbling down her chin. "I have a schedule that I need to keep Branwen, that dreadful niece and daughter of yours are doing their best to ruin my plans!"

"Then I guess we're gonna see this one out to the very end," Raven called back. Salem gave a noise of mild displeasure and slammed her sword into the earth, wisps and strands of Jade's green semblance energy flowing down it and burrowing into the earth. Raven stood in silence for a moment until the earth opened up, and out from it burst a large green snake, close to the size of a King Taijitu. Raven rolled out of the way and into Salem who skewered her with a sword, running it all the way through until the hilt met her stomach.

"Getting close, aren't we?" Salem asked with a sneer, a grimace forced upon Raven's face. Raven struggled but managed to swing her sword across, destroying the Salem before her and with her, the sword. Raven quickly looked up to see the snake above her, coming down at a ninety-degree angle and she batted its face away with her sword and a blast of gravity Dust, forcing it to change course. Raven sprinted in the opposite direction as it curled back over itself and moved to strike at her. She dove as it stuck, missing and slithering over her. She quickly escaped with a portal and moved to open another when she hit the ground, a searing flash of pain struck her worse than any she had ever felt before. "There it is."

Salem stepped into the interdimension with her and shook her head, snatching Raven's sword away from her and swinging it above her head lightly.

"After all this time, I thought I stood a chance against you. I guess I should have learned something from Summer's death, but all that I wanted to do was make you pay. I was too blinded by rage to understand that if Summer wasn't strong enough, I wouldn't be either," Raven told her, noting a blood stain on Salem's lip where she had wiped it off from. Raven smirked as she unlatched the sheath at her side quietly.

"Any last words before you join Ozpin and Summer? I'm feeling benevolent today," Salem offered.

"Yeah, go to hell." Salem chuckled.

"Unlikely." Salem swung down and sliced through Raven's sheath as she pulled it in between them to block the blow. The dust inside exploded, breaking Raven's aura and killing her almost instantly, throwing Salem back onto her side, her ears ringing as she lay dazed on the ground. She had fallen for it. Raven knew at the end that she was going to die, but she had bought Yang and Ruby more time. Salem groaned as she propped herself up on her hands and knees. "Damn you." The blade dissolved as she reached out for it and she pounded her fist on the ground. "Dammit!"

* * *

Excuse me, boys!" Came a shout as an Ursa rode through the middle of the Dust Knights that were about to open fire on Team RWBY. "I can't let you do that. Kind of on an important mission!" Ruby and Blake exchanged looks before opening fire into the group followed by Weiss and Yang, who took a more head-on approach.

"Ashley, how did you know we were here," asked Blake.

"I didn't know that you were here _specifically_ , but Coco reactivated her comms unit and got ahold of us and let us know your plan. We're gonna get you back to the bunker, if it takes all of us," Ashley told her. Ruby nodded at her as she ran by, followed closely by Weiss and the others. "Who's ready for round two!?" They quickly ran up through the tree line that followed closely along the base of the mountain and elevated slowly. This would be the hardest part physically, but once they reached where Ruby's warehouse had stood before, they would most likely meet more resistance than they had ever known. The level spot came into view and Ruby pointed, looking back at her teammates.

"Look!" Ruby exclaimed. She turned back around to be met with Joseph's horn plowing into her chest and dropping her to the ground. Yang grabbed his horn as he ran past, his feet set and stopping her, pulling back on her arm. She pulled it back, rubbing it, as Blake attacked with her sword. The earth Dust lit up on his cloak, covering him in a dome of rock which he broke through in a sprint, crashing into Weiss and Dorian who tried to push her out of the way.

"You!" Joseph yelled. He grabbed Dorian and wrenched his arm back, breaking it as Ruby's scythe hooked him. Dorian dropped into the snow as Joseph activated gravity Dust and leapt back, keeping up with Ruby as she repeatedly fired, trying to slice him in two. He spun out of her path, Blake's ribbon wrapping around his arm and she pulled, but he wasn't moved. He pulled back, throwing her towards him and Yang met his jaw, knocking him away. "Damn that blonde!"

"How's it going, Joseph? Or should I say horny?" Yang asked winking at him, hands on her hips. Ruby flushed.

"Yang, you're doing it again," she murmured.

"Oh, it's gonna go much better this time blondie!" Joseph removed the vial and slammed its contents, wiping his mouth off as he finished.

"What was that?" Blake asked. Joseph's body hit the ground, his horns growing larger and twisting out more to the sides as his legs transformed into those of a goat. His clothes tore as his body enlarged at an accelerated rate and soon he was as tall as a building, his face completely Grimm, but his body left man. He clutched the destroyed cloak in his hand and roared at them. "He must have finally perfected that steroid for Faunus that we discovered!"

"The what?!" Weiss demanded. "That's perfecting it?! He looks like a monster!"

"He kind of already was," Yang told her. He swatted at them but Aku and Ash leapt in the way, his blow slamming the two of them against the mountainside. They crashed off, rolling back down as a screaming came from above them. Grimm poured out of the hanger, rushing out to meet them. "Things are looking pretty Grimm!" _Alright already!_ Yang cocked her gauntlets and took on Grimm as they rushed by.

"There's too many and no chance of getting past this guy!" Ruby yelled. Weiss looked at her as she shouted back at them, loading ammo into her scythe and taking aim. _I will protect you, Ruby, no matter what._ Weiss stepped forward slowly past Ruby. Ruby let her gun down for a moment to take note of her before opening fire again. "Weiss!"

"Don't worry. I can handle this." Weiss told her reassuringly. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the back of Myrtenaster, concentrating on her breathing and visualizing what she wanted. "Giant Armor, now!" Her eyes shot open and a giant glyph spun into existence in the air, slowly descending and revealing the Giant Armor in its place. The armor met Joseph's fist with its sword and the beast roared back at it in anger. "I'll hold it off, you go on ahead!"

"Weiss! No! I'm not leaving you!" Ruby yelled as she swung through the hoard of swarming Grimm.

"Ruby! You have to! You can save us all!" Weiss yelled at her. Blake cleared out Grimm around Weiss as she concentrated on Joseph.

"Not without you. I'm not going to leave you again!" Ruby demanded. Weiss looked up at the armor and then back at Ruby. Yang stepped in between them as she fired through a Creep's skull.

"I've fought this joker before, mind if I take the armor for a spin?" Yang asked.

"I don't even know if that's possible," Weiss told her. Yang crouched her legs.

"Worth a shot." She replied. Weiss opened a glyph bellow Yang which opened a series of glyphs leading to Joseph. Yang took a swing and the Giant Armor copied her movement. "Heh, would you look at that."

"Yang…" Ruby told her.

"Weiss is right sis. You can fix this. Now get back to the bunker. Go!" Ruby nodded at her and took off again with Weiss on her heels. Blake grabbed Yang and kissed her hard on the lips.

"We don't know if this will work," Blake told her, her face still close. Yang blocked a blow from Joseph and returned with a jab to his ribs.

"It will," Yang told her. "It has to." A loud noise could be heard from the mountain and as Blake looked back a portal opened in the mouth of the hangar, releasing a giant green snake that slithered down and past them towards Ruby. Blake looked at the snake and then back at Yang.

"Yang, I have to…"

"I know!" Blake kissed her again quickly and took off, sticking her sword into the snake and riding it. "Get Ruby to the bunker."

* * *

Ruby skidded to a stop as the snake weaved in front of her, hissing as it loomed above Weiss and Ruby, ready to strike. Dorian pulled up next to them and grabbed Weiss by the arm.

"What is this thing and where did it come from?!" He yelled. He summoned his sword, jamming it long ways into the snake's mouth and it jerked back, trying to close its jaw. Blake shot past them, attacking its neck as its tail caught up with the rest of it and batted her away. It attempted another strike, just to be stopped by one of Weiss's glyphs as she formed another under herself, Dorian, and Ruby and they all leapt back away from it. "What's the plan?!"

"Calm down," Weiss told him. "Ruby always had a plan." Ruby lifted her scythe.

"Got it! Blake!" Ruby yelled. Blake leapt over the snake, firing at it to deter it from coming any closer. It shook its head, discouraged momentarily and focusing again on the object in its mouth. It struggled with it, still unable to close its mouth. "Attach your ribbon to something sturdy! Weiss, remember the Nevermore during initiation?"

"Like I could forget?" Weiss asked. Blake's gun wrapped snuggly around a large tree and Ruby leapt, letting Weiss draw her back on the cord.

"Dorian, any way you can send me back here a few times?" She asked. He looked at her and Weiss and Weiss nodded. He removed his watch and prepared himself, nodding back to Weiss. "Let's do this!" Ruby's scythe shifted into a spear and Weiss launched her at the snake. Ruby sliced through the neck, seeming to do little damage when Dorian quickly pulled her back through time to her launch repeatedly. She shot through the snake four times before finally landing on the other side. She waited for a moment, crouching and catching her breath as she looked over her shoulder at the beast. Dorian's blade finally snapped and the serpent flopped to the ground, separating into two separate snakes, one heading for Ruby, and the other for Dorian. "Crap."

"Not a problem!" Weiss shouted to Ruby. She opened a gravity glyph and Dorian formed a new sword, throwing it through. It tore through the air and straight through the snake. The snake hissed in pain and anger, striking towards Weiss who sprinted out of the way ahead of Dorian. "They're after the two of you, we have to get rid of them!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" Ruby asked. She spun around, firing several rounds into it until it avoided her, heading for Blake instead. "Blake!"

"Don't worry about me!" Blake yelled. "Make sure that you and Dorian make it back!" The snake struck, phasing through her clone as she landed on its head, slicing at it relentlessly. It headed quickly into the dense woods, hoping that some of the branches above would take care of Blake. Ruby sped towards Dorian and Weiss, grabbing Weiss and stopping on a dime.

"Ready?" Ruby asked, smiling at Weiss. Weiss blushed.

"Ready for what?" Weiss asked.

"Stick Myrtenaster out and just trust me!" Ruby exclaimed. She launched back in the other direction, the two of them spiraling towards the snake using Ruby's semblance. Weiss threw up her glyphs around the snake and they shot back and forth between them so fast that Dorian couldn't see them. Ruby finally came to a stop, tumbling to the ground with Weiss and looking up at the snake as it fell, landing near Dorian and dissipating. Ruby jumped on Weiss, tackling her to the ground. "We did it!"

"Get off of me you dolt!" Weiss yelled. Ruby looked her in the eyes, that warm expression bringing Weiss to a smile as well and they kissed. "We still have to get you back to the bunker."

"I second that!" Dorian called out fending off Grimm.

"Shouldn't we help Blake first?" Weiss asked. Ruby leapt up and helped Weiss stand.

"She can handle things herself. She's always been a better fighter on her own," Ruby told her.

"Right." Weiss agreed. Dorian joined them and they turned to head deeper into the woods when Blake's gun flew past, wrapping around Weiss and pulling her in. "Ruby!"

"Weiss!" Ruby called out. Weiss blasted Blake back with a glyph freeing herself as Blake swung into the trees and perched, watching them from above. "Blake, what's going on?" Blake looked at Ruby, an unnerving expression of nonemotion swept across Blake's face, her eyes an eerie green. "Blake… No…"

"Ruby!" Weiss demanded shoving her. "This time you have to go!" Ruby shook her head.

"Weiss!" Ruby protested. Weiss kissed her hard and shoved her away.

"You can fix all of this! If you don't, we're all screwed anyway! You saw the Grimm coming out of my headquarters. Something is wrong and something big is coming," Weiss told her. She raised Myrtenaster and blasted at Blake with fire Dust, causing one of Blake's clones to take a hit as she disappeared momentarily. "Go Ruby. I love you." Ruby felt tears in her eyes as her heart seized for a moment.

"I… I love you too." She grabbed Dorian and she headed even deeper into the woods with him as Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet shot past.

"Are you okay Ruby!?" Scarlet yelled out. She sniffed and nodded, not stopping for a moment.

"Keep the Grimm off of us!" Ruby yelled back.

"You got it!" May replied sprinting past with Nora and Ren. Pyrrha followed moments later.

"You can do this Ruby. For all of us," Pyrrha told her. As she continued on, Ruby knew that she meant the words to encourage her, but they hit Ruby much harder. That was the depth of the situation. If Ruby failed, she didn't only fail herself and Weiss. It would mean that she failed everyone.

* * *

Yang crashed the giant armor against Joseph again and he stumbled, allowing Yang to bring in the sword and ram it through Joseph's chest, who protested by trying to pull it out, but Yang wouldn't let up. She smirked as she pushed harder against him.

"Once you're dead and you shrink back down, I'm going to take your other horn!" Yang shouted as she grunted. Without warning, Joseph's body was barraged by glass projectiles, and he fell to the ground with a great thud. Yang looked around and looked at her hands, wondering if that was an ability the armor had that she wasn't aware of. Weiss's glyph broke and the armor was gone, leaving only her and a mess of Grimm with Joseph. Yang felt shivers down her spine as a voice addressed her by name.

"Yang Xiao Long," it said, sending a chill over her and nearly immobilizing her. She turned gingerly to face Salem, who stood several feet away, hands clasped together in front of her and she bowed slightly. "Your mother sends her regards from the grave. She says she wishes she had lived long enough to make things right." Yang clinched her fists, teeth grinding as her rage built up.

"She did, last night when she saved me from you bastards!" Yang shouted. Salem laughed kindly.

"Temper temper child. What's the old saying? 'Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger?'" Salem asked, offering another amused bout of laughter.

"What do you want?" Yang asked. She cocked her fists back, her gauntlets chambering the next round.

"I think you know quite well what I want, assuming that you know who I am. If your sister and that idiot make it back to the bunker and their little time travel escapade works, well then I'm done for. I've been planning this return for almost as long as you've been alive." Salem and Yang stared each other down.

"I won't let you do that." Salem laughed again, only serving to enrage Yang further.

"Oh, I know you aren't going to let me, child. I just thought that it was a common courtesy if I gave you the option of saving yourself when I do stop your sister. I mean, if I do succeed, you'll be dead and there will be no traveling back and doing it all over again," Salem explained. Yang cracked a grin and Salem titled her head, wondering what the girl realized.

"You know it will work, don't you?" Yang asked. "You've had Jade and Cinder do everything in the past, and now that we have a plan that will work, you've come down here in order to ensure that it gets done. Listen here lady, I might not be able to stop you, but I can sure as hell slow you down." Salem rolled her eyes and reached out in front of her, forming a glass sword in her hand.

"You remind me of someone I just killed a few moments ago." Yang smiled and took off running for Salem. Yang's fist pounded against Salem's sword as she blocked several blows. Yang backflipped as Salem made an attempt, landing on her feet and leaping back as Salem created a mass of glass knives above them, attempting to rain them down on Yang. Yang came to a stop, and as the daggers stopped falling to the ground, she could see that Salem was missing. Yang turned quickly, catching the sword with her robotic arm and snapping it in half with a flick of her wrist. Salem looked for a moment in slight shock as she formed a shield which Yang laid into. "Is this really the best you've got?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked through her swings and grunts. Salem teleported away and directed her beasts at Yang who batted them away, grabbing a Beowolf by the jaw and slamming it into the earth as she reached over it and fired at a Griffon that had landed nearby. Yang fired several shots at Salem which she easily deflected with her shield, but each one hit harder and slowly broke off shards of her protection. Yang fired behind herself, racing in and placing both fists on the shield at the same time firing. It knocked Salem back and she shattered, appearing behind Yang and stabbing her in the back with a large glass katana.

"Well, this weapon looks familiar. Not that you would know since your mother abandoned you when you were only a child. Let's end this quickly if we can, I'm growing impatient with Team RWBY's… Hope." Salem told her.

"Shut up!" Yang's cybernetic hand grabbed the sword, shoving it back through with ease, and she spun around, this time grabbing it with her real hand. It sliced across Yang's palm, causing her to bleed all over the sword, but she reached out with her right, grabbing Salem. "I always wondered what this gravity Dust shot would do, but didn't have the chance to use it since it was gifted to me on my wedding night." Yang cocked back and fired, the shot thundering into Salem and shot her through the air. Yang sprinted after her as she bound across the ground and fired again with her right arm, another direct hit that caused Salem to slam through several trees and plant into the side of the mountain. Yang reached her and grabbed her by the collar, her fist placed against Salem's head.

"I think your mother would be proud," Salem spoke softly. Salem shattered and fell to the ground as Yang slammed her fist into her, Jade's semblance spiraling up Yang's arms and into her mouth, penetrating her lungs. Yang wretched, trying to fight it for a moment and stumbling into Salem. "Foolish child." Two long glass blades extended from each of Salem's palms and she slammed them into Yang's chest, puncturing both lungs and pinning her to the mountainside. She moved to Yang's ear as she took her last breath, gasping helplessly. "I'm sorry, but patience isn't my strong suit. Now… Stay out of my way."

* * *

Shit hits the fan as our heroes race against Salem to return Dorian and Ruby to the bunker! Will they succeed? I'll be at the Madison Comic Con next weekend, so Chapter 33 will be uploaded today shortly after this one. Chapter 33 - I May Fall!


	37. Chapter 33 - I May Fall

There were two uploads this week. Make sure you read Chapter 32 - Hell Breaks Loose! Thanks!

* * *

"Blake, you need to snap out of it!" Weiss shouted. Blake charged Weiss who met several swipes from Gambol Shroud with her own blade. Blake shifted next to Weiss using a clone on the last exchange, allowing her to bat Weiss away. Weiss quickly steadied herself with a glyph and blocked a diving Blake with the next, but she leapt through as her clone took the hit and sliced Weiss across the stomach. Weiss leapt back with the assistance of a glyph, watching for a fleeting moment as her aura healed her scar. "Blake!" It was no use though, and Weiss sprinted across a line of glyphs towards her, meeting her halfway and clashing weapons again. Weiss maneuvered Blake's gun quickly, causing Blake to fire to each side of her, but never allowing herself to be hit. Weiss formed a gravity glyph behind her friend and kicked her through it, launching her away.

"Salem says that you can't be allowed to live!" Blake yelled at her. Weiss was taken off guard. _Salem? The same one that killed Ozpin, she's behind all of this?!_ Weiss was hammered by the blunt side of Blake's sheath blade, Blake's regular blade slicing Weiss's right forearm. Weiss quickly maneuvered away through a series of backflips, landing a considerable distance from Blake and blasting ice Dust at her. It swirled through the air, freezing three of Blake's clones but she kept coming. "Salem says that if we go with her, she'll give all of us great power!"

"Do people buy that line of crap?" Weiss asked as she slammed Myrtenaster into the ground, a sheet of ice surrounding her. Blake slid across it, losing traction and slipping past Weiss as Weiss quickly changed to earth Dust, planting Blake's feet to the ground. Blake loaded a gravity clip and shot out of the stone boots, lashing out at Weiss with blazing speed, Weiss barely able to keep up and taking a cut to the side of the neck as she missed one towards the end. Weiss launched herself through the air, perching high above using a glyph. "Come on Blake! Isn't it wearing off yet?" Blake leapt up, jumping from glyph to glyph that Weiss used to reach her, but Weiss hit her again with the earth Dust and sent her tumbling to the ground. Blake's clone shattered as she landed, leaving the real Blake to fire her gun towards Weiss.

Weiss swung her hand down, preparing to blast the gun back, but the clone dissolved before it made it halfway up and the real gun wrapped around her hand from below and behind her. It snapped back quickly, pulling her weapon away and she leapt off to grab it. She reached it halfway, but not before finding Blake's ribbon wrapped around her body, she pulled Weiss to the ground and she slammed against it, leaving an indent in the earth, unable to move for a moment. Weiss summoned several Ursai to distract Blake as she gathered her bearings and she slowly found her feet. Weiss threw up another glyph, launching several shots of fire Dust through it, they slammed into several clones before Blake slipped up for a moment and was thrown into the woods once more.

Weiss waited for a moment, but Blake never came back out. She slowly made her way towards where she had last seen her, keeping her guard up as she held Myrtenaster in her left hand, her right hand behind the blade and ready to create any glyphs that may be needed. Weiss lingered for only a moment, quietly and precociously crept deeper in, the snow starting to fall a little heavier now which would normally give her the advantage, if not for the backdrop of trees around her.

"Blake! We have to get back to Ruby! She probably needs us!" Weiss demanded. Blake leapt down from above, crashing through an ice clone of Weiss. She turned slowly in confusion, looking for Weiss in every direction. Since when was Weiss capable of such things? Blake felt the rapier at her back moments later.

"How long do you want to keep this up before you get back to your precious Ruby?" Blake asked. Weiss smirked as a darkness covered her face.

"As long as I need to. I'm not leaving you, Blake, you mean as much to the rest of us as Ruby. She can handle herself, I've learned that much since I lost her five years ago. So, Blake, you can snap out of it, or I can do this the hard way," Weiss told her. _Why bother? What if Ruby really does need my help and Salem is just trying to stall me?_

* * *

"We're getting closer! I think we should be pretty close to being in range of Neo being able to teleport us the rest of the way!" Ruby exclaimed. Ruby was dragging Dorian at this point but was stopped short as the reached a crest in the rolling landscape and spotted a familiar figure at the bottom of the hill.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed. "Where have you been?!" She called out to him as Dorian resisted against her trying to pull him down the hill with her. She turned back and looked up at him, a slight confusion in her eyes. "Come on Dorian, it's just my uncle."

"Stop!" Dorian demanded finally wrenching free from her. "Look at his eyes!" Ruby looked out at her uncle, he removed his sword from his back slowly and it took its scythe form. "Jade captured him a few days ago and turned him into an angel." Dorian removed his sword and held it out in front of himself, ready to take Qrow on if need be. Ruby shook her head and looked back down at Qrow.

"He's too strong for you Dorian," Ruby told him. "Back me up for now! If either of us dies, there will be no way to fix this thing! Leave him to me." Dorian looked at her, her eyes intense and the silver light inside flickered as she tried to contain the power. He nodded and she took off down the hill, both of their blades glancing off of each other's as she reached him. She spun her body, the scythe dancing around her as it struck out at Qrow but was deflected. She came out of her spin, swinging the blade wide, and Qrow blocked it with his sword. He blasted her back with his gun and she slid across the ground.

"This is it, Ruby…" Qrow spoke to her. "This is the moment I learn if I taught you everything that you'd need to know…" Ruby hesitated for a moment and he batted her away, following her, light on his feet, and quickly striking out again. She blocked his second attack as she spun through the air and managed to land on her feet.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked. He ran for her, sword behind him and slicing through the rose petals as she reformed behind him and struck out. He blasted the blade away, firing into her chest as her body swung back the other direction.

"Jade broke my body, but she wasn't able to break my mind. I'm not in control of myself, but you have to get past me and carry on with your plan. They filled me in before they sent me out! It's the only way!" Qrow told her. He blasted her again and as she fell onto her back she rolled out of the way of his blade, launching herself into the air with her gun and sliding the scythe out. He leapt after her, his sword continually meeting her scythe as the clashed in the air. Dorian watched feeling a tad helpless. He had never seen fighting like this before, and this was Ruby without having to use her eyes. He shuddered at the thought of what it might look like if it came to that. All that he could do was tremble from the top of the hill, barely able to keep a grip on his sword.

Ruby landed in the trees, sprinting across them with Qrow behind her, firing at her as she weaved in and out of his sights. Dorian ran down the hill towards them, hoping to slip by and make it to the bunker unnoticed as they were busy fighting each other. He fast-forwarded himself like he had the other night and sprinted past without being noticed, determined to make it to the bunker before he could be stopped again. He couldn't explain why he was doing it. His father had killed his mother and then taken his own life, and Weiss was all that he had left, but as badly as he wanted them to be together, he knew that he'd never be able to stand in the way of Weiss's love for Ruby. The only thing that he had left to do with his life was making sure that things were made right.

He reached the bunker and found it empty with the exception of Neo as he ran past her and down the stairs. She turned to him, quickly chasing after and grabbing him. She pinned him against the wall and extended her blade, holding it to his neck.

"Hey! Hey! What's going on?!" He asked. Neo pointed up the stairs, looking in that direction before shoving him harder and lightly pricking his neck with the tip of her weapon. "They're coming!" This answer didn't seem to satisfy Neo and she spun away from him, twisting her parasol around in her hands and using the hook to pull open his jacket. She reached in and snatched out his watch, holding it tight. "Be careful with that!" She gave him a twisted smirk, placing it in her cleavage. She winked and disappeared, leaving him standing there alone in a slight state of shock. This was bad.

* * *

The stage was set for Weiss's victory as they both remained motionless, Weiss's sword tip pressed lightly against Blake's back as they both tried to out-think the other for a long moment. Weiss had already thought of her next move, keeping Blake in place as Blake weighed up every possible scenario. Weiss hesitated for a moment before stepping away, a glyph attached to Blake's body and holding her in place as she tried to struggle out of it. She walked around to face her friend, Blake formed a clone and it shattered, but she was instantly snapped back into place and she grunted hopelessly.

"Blake, I've already caused you enough hurt. I don't want to hurt you anymore," Weiss explained to her. Blake's eyes were still filled with a green rage as she lashed out.

"This is all your fault, Schnee! If you weren't so worried about yourself, no one would have had to get hurt, and you wouldn't have been fooled so blindly! If Ruby fails, it's all because of you! You'll have failed Ruby, failed everyone! You'll have been no better than your father!" Blake screamed at her. Weiss's eyes narrowed and filled with darkness as she quickly reached Blake and slapped her across the face. Everything flooded back into Weiss's mind and she felt herself lose control. All of the memories, all of the hate, all of the uncertainty, all of the pain. Everything that Weiss had known for the last five years had rushed back into her lungs and body, and build up with renewed strength, her promise to Summer filling her.

"I will fix this!" Weiss screamed back at Blake, their faces separated by only a few inches. A glyph appeared on the end of Weiss's fist as it smashed into Blake's stomach, doubling the girl over. Weiss quickly placed her palm on Blake and pulled, the green venom slowly seeping out and dissolving as it gave a sort of hissing and squealing noise as if it had its own intelligence. Blake's body arched away from the glyph behind her as she gasped, the color disappearing from her eyes as the poison dissolved in Weiss's clutch. Weiss smirked at Blake who trembled, falling off of the glyph and landing on her knees.

"How did you do that?" Blake asked.

"I learned it in case any of the angels ever turned on me," Weiss explained.

"Weiss. I didn't mean all of that," Blake told her. Weiss chuckled.

"You dolt…" Weiss cringed in pain as her body tensed, she looked down at her hand which was covered in bruises and fell to the ground, Blake unable to catch her, as her own body was trying its best to catch up to everything.

"Weiss!" Blake moved to her gingerly and picked her up slightly in her arms. "Weiss, are you okay?" Weiss coughed, her breathing sounded labored as she looked up at Blake.

"I think the ice clone may have been overdoing it," Weiss gasped.

"Overdoing it indeed," came a voice from the woods. The figure slowly made its way towards them and Blake gently set Weiss down as she found her feet and gripped Gambol Shroud.

"Who are you?" Blake asked. Weiss craned her neck to see who was speaking and her eyes widened as the individual came into view.

"Jade?!" Weiss called out.

"At one point, yes." The voice replied. The sun broke through the trees and lit her face as she reached the small opening. Blake gritted her teeth, her chest still heaving as her aura struggled to repair itself.

"Salem," Blake spoke out loud.

"I see you've broken free of the venom that I had deployed. What a shame. I was hoping that we would do great things together Ms. Belladonna." Blake twitched but held her ground as Salem came to a stop at a respectable distance from them.

"Mrs. Belladonna-Xiao Long," Blake corrected her. Salem offered a warm smile.

"Now that just seems like a mouth full," Salem replied. She turned her attention to Weiss who was trying to move, despite the immense pain that she was in. "I would also like to thank you, Ms. Schnee. If not for the contributions that the dust company made to the cause, we never would have been able to bring me back, and that's really the only reason that Jade reached out to you in the first place. Every last thing that happened in the last 5 years happened exactly as I planned them and as Blake said before, all of that was thanks to you." Weiss was incensed at the words and tears of anger filled her eyes as she used Myrtenaster to help herself to her feet.

"We're going to stop you," Weiss told Salem. She formed a glyph behind Blake and sprinted for her, tackling her through and they both disappeared. Salem gave an amused sigh as she continued towards the bunker, following her Grimm as they greeted resistance.

* * *

"Why is all of this happening?! Who is behind all of it?!" Ruby asked as she clashed with Qrow again. They mirrored each other movements with their scythes, the blows full, but completely the same and glancing off with every attempt at each other.

"Salem," Qrow told her. Ruby's mind flashed back to Ozpin fighting Salem and what Salem had told her about Team RWBY and Qrow landed a hard blow that planted her against a large tree. _It's true. Everything that Salem said ended up being true. We are the ruin of Remnant. Everything had gone to hell, and it's all because of us._ Another blow slammed into Ruby and she gasped as it dropped her, Qrow's sword slamming into her face and knocking her against the ground. "Ruby, get up!" Ruby felt dazed as Salem's face filled her mind and gripped her with fear.

"This is all our fault! Salem knew she could play us from the beginning! There was nothing we could have done and there's nothing we can do now! There's no guarantee that the idea we came up with is even going to work!" Ruby sobbed as she felt Qrow's scythe cut through her aura and slice through her arm. She drew it back quickly in pain as she was batted away once again, her aura close to broken. She couldn't use her eyes or else she'd be vulnerable immediately afterward, which would ruin their chances at fixing everything. The idea of defeat was crippling and the fear that there was nothing they could do about it hurt even worse. Had she really been broken so easily?

This was the end. Her mind had never been so conflicted as it was in this moment, and she found herself unable to justify trying anymore. She had finally realized the pain of everything that had happened, and the pain told her that it would just be easier if she gave up. It had never been a fairy tale. Ever since the day that she had been born, her destiny had decided, and her destiny was that she'd be the driving force in helping Weiss blindly destroy Remnant and help Salem find her way back. Her eyes blurred with tears and she gasped as her aura broke with another attack from Qrow who screamed at her repeatedly to snap out of it. It was over more quickly than she had expected, and she was surrounded by darkness…

* * *

"Mommy!" Came a yell from the front door as it crashed open and rattled the small cabin. "Mommy!" Summer Rose closed the oven and set the timer, brushing her hands off on her apron as she untied it and draped it over one of the chairs. Ruby ran into the kitchen doorway, tears filling her eyes as Yang was close on her heels.

"What is it, Ruby?" Summer asked as she sat down and patted her lap. Ruby ran over to her, her eyes filled with tears as she climbed up her mother's leg and into her lap. She buried her head in Summer's chest and Summer held her gently against her body, hushing her and rocking her slightly. "What happened?"

"Don't listen to her mom!" Yang declared looking nervous from the doorway, clearly guilty of something and not wanting to get in trouble. "Whatever she says, it's not true." Summer looked over at Yang as Ruby nuzzled closer, nodding in understanding before unlatching Ruby slightly and pulling her back to look at her face. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at her daughter.

"Tell me what happened my little rose," Summer asked. Ruby wiped her face with her arm and mustered up her words through labored gasps, clearly she had been crying hard and been worked up.

"Yang says that learning how to swing is fun, but every time I try I get hurt. I don't want to swing," Ruby told her. She held up her arm and Summer looked at the minor scrape which she kissed and Ruby grabbed her again, cuddling against her mother. "Do I have to try again?" Summer reached out her arm towards Yang and the little blonde girl padded over, letting Summer draw her in.

"I pushed her too hard! It was an accident!" Yang declared. "I would never want to hurt sissy!" Summer smiled and kissed the top of Yang's head.

"I know Yang. You can go back outside, I'll send Ruby back out in a couple of moments," Summer told her.

"Okay!" Yang exclaimed as she ran back out. "I'll be waiting for you sissy!" The door slammed closed again and Summer gently rubbed the top of Ruby's head, Ruby letting out a long exhausted sigh and she relaxed.

"Do you want to go back out with Yang and try again?" Summer asked. Ruby looked up at her and shook her head.

"I don't want to get hurt anymore," Ruby explained to her. Summer stood, carrying Ruby and setting her on the edge of the kitchen table as she moved to the counter and grabbed a plate of cookies, which she presented to Ruby. Ruby's eyes grew large and she looked up at Summer who laughed softly.

"Go ahead." Ruby snatched up three cookies, setting two on the table beside her and quickly munching on the first one. Summer placed the plate back to where it had been before and moved so that she was face to face with Ruby. "Swinging can be a lot of fun Ruby," Summer explained to her. Ruby nodded in agreement, replying with her mouth full.

"I know, but I don't like when I get hurt. When I get hurt I get scared that I'll get hurt again, and it makes me not want to swing," Ruby told her. Ruby held a cookie out to Summer and she took it. "For you mommy!" Ruby smiled and giggled as Summer kissed the top of her forehead.

"Thank you, Ruby," Summer said as she took a bite of it. Ruby kicked her legs and looked into her mother's eyes for a long moment. "Do you want to go out and try again?" Ruby shook her head again, pouting slightly, her lower lip quivering.

"I'm scared to. I don't want to get hurt." Summer brushed Ruby's cheek, causing Ruby to grab her hand and snuggle against it.

"I think you should go back out and try again," Summer told her. Ruby clung tighter to Summer's hand.

"Why mommy?" Summer picked her up and held her in her arms, Ruby's little arms wrapped around her neck and clinging as though her life depended on it.

"Sometimes things that are good for us to do hurt us. The more we do them, the less they hurt us later, and the less we have to worry. When mommy first started fighting monsters, she wasn't very good. I got hurt a lot. But I knew that the more I practiced, and the more monsters I fought, the better I would get and the less they'd be able to hurt me," Summer explained. Ruby looked at her in thought for a moment.

"The more I swing, the less I'll fall off?" Ruby asked, starting to understand. Summer nodded with a warm smile on her face.

"Exactly. It only hurts for a little bit Ruby." Summer lifted Ruby's elbow and showed her the scrape. "You don't even feel it anymore, do you?" She set Ruby down and Ruby giggled as she shook her head.

"No! Your cookie made it feel better!" Ruby smiled and stood on her tiptoes as Summer bent down and kissed Ruby. "I love you, mommy!"

"I love you too my little rose." Ruby grabbed the cookie off of the table and ran out of the kitchen. Summer waited as she heard the door open and slam quickly and sighed. She turned towards the hallway and moved down to Ruby's room, sitting in the rocking chair that faced her bed and she watched the girls playing out the window.

"Mom," Ruby's voice said as she placed her hand on Summer's shoulder. Summer looked back and up at her daughter and smiled.

"You look just like me. Tai always said that you would, but I never imagined that we'd look this much alike," Summer told her, reaching across her body and grabbing Ruby's hand. Ruby trembled as she watched the girls play out the window.

"Am I dead?" Ruby asked. Summer rocked slowly and shook her head as Ruby let go of her and sat on the bed so that she could face her.

"The unconscious works in a funny way when you're on the brink of death. Memories that are completely inaccessible normally are brought to the surface if the situation calls for it. Now tell me my little rose… You don't actually think that everything that you've done up to this point in your life was a complete waste, do you? Salem hasn't won yet, but if you give up now, you'll end up giving her what she wanted, and she will be right. You can still stop all of this," Summer explained to her.

"But all of the pain that we've caused," Ruby tried to protest. Her mother stood and looked at her.

"That's all behind you. If you give up now, think of all the additional pain that will be caused." Ruby looked at Summer. She hadn't thought of it that way. The distress and anger of the past had clouded her vision of the future. "It's the same thing that I told you when you were a little girl. Sometimes the things that we need to do hurt us, but we learn from that pain Ruby, we don't let it stop us. You can still have what you dreamed of. Moving back here and being with Weiss and Amelia. It's all just within your reach Ruby, but you need to snap out of it."

 _Snap out of it Ruby!_

 _Ruby!_

Ruby slowly opened her eyes to find Qrow's blade swinging for her and she phased through it, dissolving into rose petals and throwing herself into the air. She reformed and slammed a gravity clip into her scythe, firing at Qrow and blasting him back through the woods. Ruby shot through the air and caught him before he fell to the ground, wrapping her scythe past him and holding back her emotions.

"I'm sorry," She told him. He smiled and nodded.

"I knew you could do it kiddo." Ruby let out a scream as she chambered the gravity bullet, knowing what came next. She fired, activating her semblance and rocketing away from him as her blade sliced him in half and she continued to the bunker, not stopping once to look back. She ran through the lookout room and stopped as she reached the main hall, looking around to find it empty.

"Dorian?!" She shouted out.

"Ruby!" He exclaimed as he ran out of the kitchen into the hallway.

"Good! You made it! Let's do this!" Ruby told him.

"Problem. Slight problem with that…" He told her.

"What?" She asked.

"Neo must have thought that I turned on you. She took my watch and disappeared."

"What?!"

* * *

Oct. 1st. Chapter 34 - In the End...

Weekly reminder, huge thanks to OrganoidZero (Co-Creator / Editor) who helped me craft this story every step of the way. The overall concept was his idea and I wouldn't have been able to write it without him. Also a shout out to Zephyros-Phoenix (Artist), who drew our characters over on Deviantart. The story is also available on Archive Of Our Own!

Phoenix's fan art for the story can all be found over at silent-celicadeviantartcom/favourites/72050617/Operation-Nightshade (Periods need to be inserted after celica and art in the address). Or if it's easier, look for Silent-Celica on Deviant Art and find the Nightshade folder in my Favorites tab! Let us know if you drop in! Until next week, stay classy.


	38. Chapter 34 - In The End

Neo ran through the mass of Grimm that was stampeding towards the bunker, slicing them down as they ran away from the area that all of the huntsmen had been sent to. Neo paused for a moment, knowing that nothing should have made them run away from that area, yet the Grimm themself almost seemed to be afraid of what was coming towards them. She weaved in and out of the monsters, leaping off of their heads and moving swiftly through the trees. She leapt down behind Nora and Ren, tapping Nora on the shoulder.

"Neo, I thought that you were supposed to wait back at the bunker for Ruby and Dorian," Nora told her. Neo shook her head.

"Those were her instructions," Ren told her. Neo removed the watch from her bosom and shook it in Nora's face.

"That's Dorian's watch," Nora told Ren.

"Fall back!" Blake exclaimed. Weiss and Blake carried each other as they limped towards the group. Pyrrha joined them as they arrived, Ren examining both of them.

"They'll be fine in a moment, but they need to rest," Ren explained to them.

"Well then, isn't this convenient," Salem said as she slowly approached the small group. "Once I've wiped out Weiss and Blake here, all that will be left is Summer's daughter, and victory will be mine."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Pyrrha told her.

"Ah yes, the girl who was bested by Cinder. However, I'm much stronger than she was, and there's nothing magnetic for you to use around here." Salem explained to her. Pyrrha threw her shield and it sailed past Salem as she simply leaned out of the way. "Pathetic."

"Neo!" Nora yelled. Neo teleported and leapt, placing her feet against the shield as Pyrrha pulled it back and charged Salem. Salem turned, grabbing Neo and swinging her into Pyrrha as Nora's hammer swung in to smash into her. Salem blocked it with a glass shield, grabbing Ren's gun as it boomeranged towards her. She hooked it over Nora's hammer quickly and pulled, kneeing her in the chest. Salem threw the gun back, clipping the other one and knocking it out of the air as Pyrrha's shield slammed into her. Salem stumbled back and was thrown back through a glyph, glancing off of a tree as Neo slammed her parasol through her. Salem's clone shattered.

"I don't have time for this nonsense!" Salem shouted. She walked back in from the direction she had entered before, this time joined by two other Salems.

"Neo!" Ruby yelled as she ran up to the group and stopped as she spotted Salem.

Your team will be the true fall of Remnant. The seed has been planted and it's only a matter of time before your demise will bloom. Ruby's mind flashed to seeing Salem at the cliffside.

"Oh Summer. Did you really think that you'd be able to defeat me? Even with those silver eyes of yours?" Salem asked. Summer?

"Ruby!" Dorian yelled snapping her out of it, her eyes caught on Salem, unable to look away.

"What are you waiting for?!" Weiss yelled. Neo grabbed both of them, shoving Dorian's watch back at him, and teleported away, leaving Salem to scowl and run after them. Weiss fired at Salem through a glyph, distracting her and allowing Pyrrha to impale her, shattering the clone. Nora slammed through the second clone and the real Salem disappeared into a portal. "Blake, where are they going to try their plan at?"

"There!" Blake pointed. "You can see the edge of the look out room from here. About 100 feet below the center of that room!" Weiss opened her glyph and leapt through, falling through the other side at Neo's feet.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed as she bent down to help Weiss. Weiss pushed her off, using Myrtenaster to stand.

"Go! You have to go now! Salem will be here any moment!" Weiss yelled. Neo attempted to teleport but immediately reappeared with a glass spike ran through her chest, Salem staring at the girl as she struggled against it. Ruby's eyes activated and she grabbed Dorian. He shuddered as a feeling of almost absolute power washed over his body. The time glyph opened under Ruby and spun with a speed that was unable to be kept up with with the human eye, everything in the room being pushed away with the exception of Ruby. Salem formed her glass projectiles but they were thrown against the walls.

"No!" Salem yelled.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted out over the deafening silence of the cavity in time being ripped open. She held herself in place using a glyph. "When you get back, I need to know it's you!"

"How will I do that?!" Ruby yelled back.

"Tell me that I told you that we are going to go Geist hunting for our honeymoon!" Weiss yelled out. A single glass crystal rose up through Weiss's glyph, instantly silencing and murdering her. Ruby's heart stopped for a moment and she screamed out, her eyes growing more intense.

"Are you ready!?" Dorian shouted.

Ruby could hear her own breathing as the image of everything distorted around her. This was it. This was the moment that everything had been leading up to. It was now or never. This, was the moment that would determine the fate of Remnant. Ruby gripped tightly to her scythe.

"I'm ready."

Dorian shouted as the glyph spun faster and faster until it was pure light and Ruby felt her body being pulled apart, as though she was made of rubber and her body was slowly being stretched to its breaking point. She screamed, her body slowly disappearing into the silver light as Salem impaled Dorian with a glass spear, he dropped to the ground as the glyph disappeared, with no trace of Ruby and the room slowly caving in due to the damage.

* * *

"Hey, while we're on the subject, when are you gonna propose to Velvet?" Asked Yang. Coco lost her balance for a moment and regained her composure.

"Velv… I…"

Ruby's mind slammed back into her body as if she were screaming towards the end of a tunnel and hit an unavoidable wall at the end.

"Ahhhh! Yang! Blake!" Ruby yelled out, she jerked upright, stumbling away from the window. Yang reattached her arm and walked over to her sister, looking her over.

"Sis, you okay?" Yang asked. Ruby felt her arms and reached out, grabbing Yang. She took a deep breath, looking past Yang at Blake and Coco who were clearly disturbed.

"Ruby, you're acting a little funny," Blake told her.

"It's probably just the pressure of the wedding," Coco offered. Ruby looked at Yang again and shook her.

"It worked!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What worked?" Yang asked. The door was thrown open and in it stood Oobleck, taking a sip of his thermos.

"Hello ladies. Aren't you all looking wonderful on this glorious day, and a fine one for a wedding if I'm so inclined to say so. Is the bride to be ready, or have her nerves gotten the best of her?" He asked without taking a breath at any point. He took another sip from his thermos.

"Nah, she's just got some butterflies," Yang told him. Coco took a few steps away from the door.

"I see."

"Thanks for marrying my sister Oobleck. I know that we all learned a lot from your class."

"As you should have! History is one of the most important things that a person can learn from. It's what makes us who we are and shows us who we will be! And don't mention it, not many people are aware of the fact that during the summer I act as a justice of the peace." He turned away. "As soon as Ruby is ready, we shall be ready to begin!"

"Wait!" Ruby called out. They all looked at her for a long moment. "Can you give me an extra 15 minutes?" Oobleck gave her a long thoughtful look for a moment before nodding and leaving the room.

"Ruby, do you mind explaining what's going on?" Blake asked her. She looked at the three of them again.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I just got back from the future," Ruby told them. Coco looked over her glasses before adjusting them and beginning to leave.

"I'm out. Talk to you after the wedding Red," Coco told her. Ruby used her semblance to tear across the room and slam the door shut.

"Coco, when I was in the future I watched Velvet die in your arms, and you told me that you never asked her to marry you because you were afraid that she wouldn't want you if you didn't prove yourself to her," Ruby blurted out in a single breath. "That's what you wanted to talk to me about! That's why you hoped that you'd find me alone in here!" Coco looked at the floor before she turned away from Ruby and moved to the chair, sitting.

"I haven't told anyone that," Coco said as she looked up at Ruby, her eyes wet. "How did you know?"

"Now I'm weirded out," Yang said looking up from Coco at her sister.

"If your weapons are nearby, grab them. I'll get Gambol Shroud from my apartment, I need Crescent Rose anyways," Ruby told them.

"Why?" Blake asked.

"Trust me. Call Neo and tell her to meet me at the church doors. You'll know when it's time to attack!" Ruby leapt out the window and took off for her apartment. She opened the door as she arrived and stepped back out, waiting for a moment as she heard the gas bomb go off and she reopened the door, shielding her face with her dress. She quickly made her way up the stairs, grabbing her scythe and Blake's blade from where they had left them that morning and quickly heading back out of the building. As she stepped out of the door, a fist slammed into her stomach and she crashed back through the hallway and into the far wall.

"How did you know about the gas?" Joseph asked as he cracked his knuckles and stepped into the hall with her. "Doesn't matter, you're as good as dead anyways. My boss said that keeping you alive was more or less… optional." Ruby slammed gravity dust into her gun and loaded it.

"I'm not going with you this time!" She fired, blasting him out of the building and he slid out into the road, removing his arms from his face in time to see Ruby's scythe swinging towards him. He quickly activated his earth dust, protecting himself for a moment as her blade glanced off of his arms. She fired her scythe, leaping off of the end and launching away as it slammed into him, removing Gambol Shroud and wrapping it around her own weapon as Joseph grabbed it and threw it away. The force launched her back towards him and the sheath blade planted into his chest as she barreled over him. She pulled Crescent Rose back to herself using the ribbon and swung it behind her, hooking it past Joseph and firing, slicing him in half.

Ruby grabbed the other half of Gambol Shroud and used her semblance to rocket back to the church, grabbing Neo as she walked in through the doors and into the lobby. Ruby glanced over her shoulder at Jade and the twins as they rounded the corner. She shoved Gambol Shroud at the girl.

"Get this to Blake!" She exclaimed. Neo nodded and was gone and Ruby quickly moved to the doors as Jade watched her for a moment in disbelief, grabbing Rowan's shoulder and pointing.

"Shit," Jade said as they ran for her.

"If anyone has any reason that these two should not be married, please speak now or forever hold your peace," Oobleck declared to the church full of people. Weiss had barely heard any of it though. The day she had long awaited was here and all that there was left to do was count the seconds until she'd kiss Ruby and they be able to be together forever. Ruby bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. She was smiling and mouthed 'I love you'. Weiss mouthed it back and sighed. This was the happily ever after she had always dreamed off.

"I object!" Ruby shouted as she opened the door and everyone turned to look at her. Yang grinned slightly as Neo handed Blake her weapon.

"Ruby?!" Weiss asked.

"She's a fake!" The Ruby beside Weiss screamed.

"Weiss! Listen!" Ruby exclaimed. Rowan stepped in through the doorway and grabbed Ruby.

"No need to panic!" Jade yelled. "We were sent by Qrow! He was afraid someone might make an attempt on your lives during the wedding tonight and…" Ruby squirmed away for a moment, quickly firing her gun and taking the head clean off of her doppelganger, wires frayed and sparks firing everywhere. Weiss stood shocked for a moment before returning her attention to Ruby and the twins that were trying to drag her out.

"Stop them!" Weiss yelled. Jade formed a glass wall over the doorway and ran out to greet Blake, forming a glass sword in her hand and matching Blake's blows as Yang fired at her. She quickly formed a glass shield, blocking against Yang's shots as she knocked Blake back. "Pyrrha! The door!"

"On it!" Pyrrha replied. She threw a barrage of chairs at the glass but they glanced off with little to no effect.

"Ladies! Allow me." Oobleck stepped out from behind the pulpit and fired at the glass, effectively shattering it as Pyrrha and Weiss crashed through, chasing after Ivory and Rowan. Jade turned to chase after, but Blake jerked her arm back, wrapping it up with her ribbon as Yang landed a clean blow on the shield, breaking it apart. Neo placed her blade at Jade's neck.

"I refuse to be defeated by the likes of you!" Jade yelled. Yang punched Jade in the jaw to silence her and the glass clone shattered.

"Where did she go?" Yang asked.

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled as Rowan moved quickly with her, Ivory covering his backside with her wings spread. "Let go of me!"

"I don't think so!" Rowan told her.

"If nothing else goes as planned today, we've been instructed that we have to kill you no matter what," Ivory explained. Something glanced off of her back and she reached back, removing her bow and spinning around, closing her wings quickly to throw Pyrrha and Weiss back, firing lightning arrows and blinding the two of them.

"Come on!" Rowan demanded.

"We don't have time to deal with them. Call Raven's Claw and tell them to proceed with the plan. I need a way out," He told her. She nodded, turning back towards him and shielding them again as she removed her scroll. It was pulled out of her hands and smashed against the wall. Rowan was stopped in his tracks, unable to move his body. "What's going on here?"

"You're not going anywhere," Weiss informed him. He smirked as his body burst into flames.

"We'll see about that!" His eyes lit up with the same fire that consumed his body and he slammed his fist into the back of Ruby's head, knocking her out. "I'll deal with all of you… And then I'll take care of her!" Ivory extended her bow into its staff form and turned back to face them, ready to fight with her brother as Yang, Blake, and Neo showed up.

"Enough already!" Came a shout from behind the twins. Jade stood over Ruby, her chest heaving as she clung to her daggers, doubled over as she looked up at all of them. She grabbed Ruby by the arm and pulled her up slowly, looking her in the face and kissing her. Weiss's eyes grew wide as Rowan and Ivory turned back in surprise.

"What the hell?!" Yang exclaimed. Jade's teeth sunk into Ruby's lower lip and she smiled weakly as Ruby's eyes shot open.

"There she is," Jade said laughing silently. "Now show them what those eyes are capable of…"

"What's going on?" Weiss demanded. Rowan grabbed Jade as she collapsed to the ground and threw himself over the top of her as Yang and Blake ran in, Yang grabbing Ivory's staff as Blake's sword clashed against it. Ruby slowly floated into the air, her eyes activating and throwing all of them back.

"Ruby! Snap out of it!" Weiss shouted out. Ruby aimed her gun, her energy channeling into it until it glowed, the weapon barely able to contain all of the power.

"I'm sorry Weiss. I have to obey Jade," Ruby told her. Neo leapt into the way of the blast, the energy smashing off of her parasol and scattering to both sides. Rowan unhooked his weapon, pulling Neo out of the way and letting what little power of the shot fired was left, blast Weiss away. Yang gripped Ivory's staff still, blasting and kicking her in the chest at the same time, knocking her away. Yang swung the blade down and it sliced through Rowan's arm that was holding the hook. Slowly the flames swirled around his missing limb, reforming it as Neo stumbled away.

"You think you can stop me that easily?" He asked. Blake threw herself towards him using a clone, her blade slicing through his neck as she came to a stop inches from Jade who had placed herself in a small glass dome. Rowan dropped to the ground as Ivory watched in horror and leapt onto her brother's body.

"Jade! Stop this! This isn't what I wanted!" Ivory screamed at Jade.

"No! They must be destroyed!" Jade replied as strong as she could before falling to a heap on the floor. She had overdone it. Ivory looked at Jade who lie helpless on the ground in her dome as Ruby charged another shot aimed for a desperate Weiss who was unsure what to do. Ivory leapt up, diving in between Weiss and the shot, opening her wings wide as the energy slammed against her wings.

"I'm sorry Ms. Schnee. This isn't how it was supposed to happen!" The shot ended and Ivory quickly moved to her right, snatching her axe back from Yang and smashing it against Jade's protective barrier. "This!"

"What are you doing?" Jade asked.

"Ends!" Ivory screamed as she slammed against it again, watching it crack down the sides.

"Ivory!? Ruby, kill her!" Jade demanded. Ruby shot towards Ivory, passing straight through her body as she landed the final blow. Ivory stood motionless for a moment over Jade before she fell to the ground, dead.

"And now, all of them. Just as you did with Ivory." Jade slowly found her feet. "None of them will be able to stop that attack. Do it…" Jade was filled with bullets and her body was violently rattled as she fell to the ground, finally dead. Coco approached the scene with Velvet, looking past them at Ruby, whose eyes were lit up.

"Who the hell are they?" Coco asked. Ruby planted her feet, about to take off when Weiss grabbed her and kissed her hard on the lips. Ruby struggled for a moment before she began to give in to the kiss, the effects of the poison wearing off as its distributor had perished. Ruby's eyes dimmed and she fell limp into Weiss's arms.

"Is it… Is it over?" Ruby asked. Weiss smiled softly and nodded as she helped Ruby stand as Qrow and Oobleck arrived.

"What happened?" Qrow asked. He looked past them at the security team he had hired, all of which lying dead on the floor.

"I think it would be best if we closed this ceremony," Ruby suggested. "Don't you Dr. Oobleck?" He smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. By the power vested in me by the Kingdom of Vale, I know pronounce you wife and wife! You may both kiss the bride!" Oobleck declared. Weiss pulled Ruby in slowly and smiled before their lips touched.

"I love you Ruby Rose," Weiss told her.

"And I love you Weiss Schnee. Nothing will ever change that."

They shared their first kiss as a married couple, and Ruby promised to explain everything later.

* * *

So much happened after our wedding was finally all said and done. I still joke around with Weiss about how it took me 5 years to walk down the aisle, but the only one who really completely believes that I came back from the future is Qrow. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes when you save the world. Our reception was great! What I told Coco that she had told me in the future was enough for Coco to work up the courage to propose to Velvet! She said yes of course. Oh, and Reese caught the bouquet! She's doing quite well with Mr. Bradbury if I do say so myself. I set them up though, so I guess I'm slightly biased.

Weiss still wonders how I knew what our plans were for the honeymoon and as much as I try to convince her, she doesn't completely buy it. She thinks it was just another one of my day dreams that I have pretty often. Weiss and I took over the company after her father got to know us better. It turns out, in the end, he really was concerned that she was happy with her choice above all else. That being said, Atlas technology found a way to let us have a baby! I'm a few months pregnant now with the little hedgehog! Her name is Amelia. She's gonna be adorable just like her mother… Weiss that is. But hopefully she has my hair.

Alice was never heard from, as she never was released from the mental institute she was being held in. When Rose Petals existed, she saw the funding and did everything in her power to get out and get her funding, but with no light at the end of the tunnel, she'd rather remain in the tunnel. I recommended Uncle Qrow to let me train Ash once I was done being pregnant, but he says I might be a little occupied with the baby at that point. Nonsense. I have silver eyes, and I drink milk… I'm practically a ninja. Maybe he's right though, I've heard from Jaune and Pyrrha that a child can be a handful.

The Raven's Claw were shut down before they could even start wreaking havoc again thanks to Team RWBY and Uncle Qrow! We just can't be stopped! But I guess I should get going, Yang's wedding is in a few hours!

Thank you Mom, for everything that you did for me.

And thank you too Ozpin. I don't think any of us would have made it here without you.

* * *

Qrow stood in the doorway of the church as the ceremony continued, watching as Blake and Yang stood at the altar, holding each other's hands and avoiding looks from Ruby to keep from laughing. Qrow smirked and chuckled.

"So you made it?" Qrow asked. Raven became her bird form and perched on his shoulder, looking down the aisle at her daughter. "You can go see her after this if you want."

"I'm not ready yet Qrow. I'm afraid that she hates me," Raven told him.

"Oh, she hates you alright," Qrow replied. "But she's ready to forgive you too." Raven glanced at him and nodded.

"So if what Ruby said is true," Raven told him.

"Salem is still out there somewhere." They remained in silence for a while.

"What do we do then?" Qrow smirked and brushed her off of his shoulder. Following her out into the lobby as she flew for the doors.

"We keep moving forward. One day at a time."

* * *

I can't begin to thank everyone enough who decided to stick with this story and I hope you all enjoyed the ending. One final thanks to Zephyros-Phoenix for doing the character art, and OrganoidZero for co-writing!

If you liked it, favorite or follow me, next month I'll begin uploading an epic adventure with More fluff, less tragedy, and that has nearly 30 OCs and 300,000+ words written and still going! This story will still have the main characters heavily involved. The next chapter uploaded in this story will be a teaser for that fic, so feel free to check it out!

Thanks for sharing in this adventure and stay classy.


	39. A Teaser Chapter : NITE

Ruby's black boots padded gently against the grass as she walked to the middle of the field that stretched the length of the woods to her mother's grave, stopping and letting the winds from the ocean several miles away blow over her. She took a deep breath in, normally she met resistance from Grimm on the way through the woods, but her mother was watching over her today and the walk had been quiet. It had been too long since she'd last stood in this place, though it had only been two weeks. She needed today. The wind danced across her skin again, tugging lightly at her dress. Her mother wanted to talk.

Ruby brushed the hair out of her face, walking to the grave and kneeling in front of it, dusting off the stone and smiling lightly as she bent down to kiss it.

"Hi mom," Ruby said thoughtfully. A warmth filled her as the leaves danced around her and swept over the cliff, the breeze carrying them into the forest below as Ruby watched them disappear. Ruby stood and took another breath in, the stress of life catching up with her and she was processing it the best way that she knew how. "It's silly really. I know that I've told you all of this before, but it always helps when I have someone to talk to and I know how much you like to hear my voice. It's just so much to deal with… I guess you can kind of relate. I promise I won't over do it."

"Where do I begin?" She ran her fingers through her hair and stared off into the horizon, the sun waiting for her to finish before summoning the night. "Life doesn't wait for anyone and I guess all of that first became pretty obvious about seventeen years ago. My team was able to take down Salem which is where most of the problems ended, and a listless amount of new ones began. First came the fact that there was no conflict that needed to be dealt with. We're warriors. Weiss, Blake, Yang, all of our friends, what were we supposed to do? We fight, we've only ever known fighting, and so settling into 'normal' living was difficult enough in itself. Then we all got married.

You know how much I love Weiss mom, I tell you every time that I come out here, but going from living in a little cabin in the woods where no one cared what you did, to becoming the hero of the Remnant who also happens to be married to the wealthiest woman in the world, took a little adjusting. Okay, it took a lot of adjusting, but after a while I got as used to it as I could. It still causes me anxiety to know that the world is watching every move that I make. Luckily we found a way to stay busy. We spent the next five year chasing down the White Fang with the help of the Atlas military.

Just outside of Vale we put an end to the terror that they were creating, we found the final camp and killed their leader Adam Taurus. It was a last resort, we wished we could have captured him but he forced our hand and we had no other choice. That's when things took an amazing turn that we'll never regret, not a single one of us. Blake and Yang rescued a little hawk faunus in the midst of the madness. Neela Jaeger… I mean… Xiao Long now. She became a light of hope for us in the middle of trying to find ourselves. If she could overcome all of the hate and fear that she'd learned and had drilled into her very instincts, then we could overcome our insecurities and rebuild the world for the better. She was a hero without even trying. She was adopted a couple of months after she was found and the rest of us went to work.

We formed a council to watch over Remnant and take care of threats before they begin, Weiss became the sole proprietor of the SDC, Neela's new life had given us life! Weiss used her new found position to rebuild Beacon after we cleared out the Grimm a few years later, RWBY's last mission together, and we had more that enough volunteers from former students to staff the school. They wanted to give back to the school that had made them who they were and they wanted to stay close to Neela, the community came together to raise that girl in a way that no one else could. She was the most loved child in the world, and no one could deny the fact. She would never know the deathly cold grip of hate ever again. Even Weiss grew attached…

She poured her heart and soul into finding a way to use aura to allow same sex couples to have children, She went through several months of sleepless nights, but it wasn't until years later that she had figured it out. Remnant's population exploded, the procedure was kept cheap so that anyone who wanted to have children could afford it. It truly was a miracle and once again, we owed the advance to Neela. I know I talk her up a lot, but she deserves it. She'll be entering Beacon in a couple of weeks, and she's tried harder than anyone else that's ever attended. Well, at least harder than Yang and me. I hope she does well, I fear that things are about to change.

Mistral has assembled an army, crime is running amok in Vacuo, Atlas is running out of Dust, and Vale has become complacent again. I fear that someone will attack soon, it's been too quiet for too long. I'd like to think that I can just keep fighting forever, but there you are. You should still be here for me but you sacrificed yourself to ensure that I lived instead, and I would do the same thing for my daughter Amelia." Ruby turned away and her cape blew in the wind before it stopped suddenly and the sunlight gave way to moonlight. Yang stood beside her, bending to the grave and lightly brushing her fingertips across it.

"Hey, Rubes," Yang said. There was something off in her voice and Ruby gave her a look of concern as they both stared out at the moon. "I didn't know that you were in town."

"Had to get away from the council for a while," Ruby told her. She looked at Yang who seemed exasperated. "Everything okay?"

"It's been a long time since mom passed away," Yang told Ruby looking towards her with wet eyes. "You look just like her."

"Yang," Ruby said as her sister unraveled and drew her in.

"Neela is about to head off to Beacon and I don't know if she's ready for it! What if I didn't do a good enough job?" Yang asked. Ruby shook her head as she took a deep breath.

"You did the best you could and Neela's an amazing kid," Ruby reassured her. "Mom would be proud." Yang exhaled and sniffed hard.

"Thanks sis," Yang said. "Yeah, she's pretty remarkable, isn't she?" Ruby laughed pushing Yang back.

"She did learn from the best," Ruby replied. Yang shook her head with a chuckle.

"Hardly," Yang told her. "I think you'll be blown away though, she might put you to shame." Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

The Beacon Stories: Team NITE is a story that happens nearly 20 years in the future and follows the adventures of Team NITE as they navigate through a time of Remnant that is rushing quickly out of peace and into chaos. As I've mentioned before this story is heavily OC based but will feature the original characters on a regular basis. I invite you all to join on our journey as the team begins their training at Beacon on November 11.

Neela (Jaeger) Xiao Long - A young instinctual huntress who was raised by the White Fang and taught to hate humans with every fiber of her being. Luckily she was young when Blake and Yang rescued her and it was much easier to teach her to love than to hold on to her hate. Neela grew up on Patch with her best friend Eliana and the two played and trained together on a daily basis. Neela has won many marksman and tactical competitions in Vale, causing many to wonder just how much potential Neela has, comparing her to the likes of Ruby Rose and Coco Adel.

Ilia Cherny - Self raised after being orphaned on the streets of Vacuo, Ilia is a fighter that rushes in and hits hard, asking questions later and trusting no one. After suffering through one abusive relationship to another Ilia has decided to flee her home in Shade and make a run for Vale before the military can bring her back and try her for her crimes. She is considered highly dangerous, though it seems as if Glynda has seen the potential for good in her, offering safety in the form of admission at Beacon. Ilia was last seen on a train heading east, hoping to use the countryside as cover until she can reach the school.

Titus Prasinos - A hard working boy who was trying to provide for his family after his father died in a Dust mine cave in, Titus trained his strength and discipline every waking moment he had available, using the little money he had scrapped together to head north to Atlas and train in the military. He climbed the ranks and became the youngest soldier to ever achieve the title of lieutenant general. With the potential to become the next James Ironwood, a traumatic event set Titus back slightly, and he distanced himself from the other students. He is currently preparing to take his entrance exam for the academy in Atlas.

Eliana Latherus - Raised at a young age in the Mistral countryside, Eliana was a carefree and fantastical child that enjoyed spending time with her mother and father. Her father, Alexander Latherus, was a well known member of the Haven Police Force who had taken down many high level criminals during his time of employment, and his daughter looked up to him as a hero. While out with her mother, the two returned to find Eliana's father had been killed by Grimm, tarnishing the girl's innocence, but over time her will was pieced back together by Neela. Eliana plans on attending Beacon with her.

The story is being written in advance, with over 360,000 words completed and a planned 4 Year Story Arc. Fan Art for NITE is being provided by greats in the fandom such as Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, and the god of RWBY fan art himself, Dishwasher1910.


End file.
